


PPG Bleached: Fade to Black

by BountyHunterXIII



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Action, Age Difference, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood, Character Death, Death, Demon Powers, Deviates From Canon, Fantasy, Gen, Mind Manipulation, Original Character(s), Resurrection, Spiritual, Supernatural Elements, Suspense, Transformation, Violence, World Domination
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-01-05 18:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12195477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BountyHunterXIII/pseuds/BountyHunterXIII
Summary: In the depths of the distortion world Lord HIM devises an insidious plan to take over the world. As Buttercup becomes infected with HIM's demonic virus she must learn to overcome her dark side as well as the the new powers her and her sisters have awakened to. Can the PPG put a stop to HIM's madness before it's too late? Or was their something deeper driving his obsession?





	1. A Handy Miscalculation

**_Prologue_ **

Darkness surrounds me, my whole being was swept away in the madness that was my abusive life. I felt something burning around my waist, but I couldn't be bothered to move my legs- more over, it seemed as if I lacked the ability to even move at all-

The Young boy set his foggy gaze to his side, a faint green blob scurried up to him in the pouring rain kneeling over and pleading in an unfamiliar language. It was then accompanied by a similar blob with a darker shade to it.

-It hurts, my legs hurt- he coughed and gagged out the blood that built up in the pit of his stomach, so much so that it pooled over the sides of his mouth nearly suffocating him.

-How did it end up like this? Why can't I seem to remember what happened-? His head spun around desperately trying to make sense of his situation as his body felt increasingly frazzled. -Maybe, if I just take a quick nap- everything might-become-clearer... A loud ringing sound slowly over took him as his vision faded deeper into obscurity leaving only a fragment of a memory of a lone figure floating above him brandishing a menacing dark green saber.

**_..._ **

_**PPG Bleached: Fade to Black** _

_**Chapter** _ _**I** _

**_A Handy Miscalculation_ **

* * *

**_..._ **

The City of Townsville at night.

The citizens were all sleeping soundly in their cozy beds; the only sounds that echoed across this peaceful town were that of the owls intermittently hooting away and a calm nightly breeze blowing in the distance. Even the villains needed some sleep; Mojo was sleeping in his bed sucking his thumb still gripping a ray gun and dreaming of world domination. Fuzzy was swinging on his rocking chair still holding his shotgun and mumbling to himself about his propor-tay. All was peaceful throughout this little metropolis, but somewhere in a distorted world an evil demon plotted, the evil demon known as Lord HIM.

He was busy contemplating the very nature of the Powerpuff Girls, slowly feeding them subliminal messages throughout their various dreams and gauging their reactions. He whispered a sweet lullaby to these super powered children, hoping to cause a personality shift, or rather to measure the extent of their own personal morality.

"My sweet little Buttercup- how ruthless you are, you defeated that monster quite easily! One might say that you're the strongest fighter in the world!" Buttercup smirked while stomping on her prey, she felt unstoppable and extremely prideful as she finished off the monster that threatened her destroyed city. "Your sisters showed mercy- allowing the monsters to escape and plot their revenge. They only wanted to stop the monsters from causing any more destruction but you- you destroyed your own city just to make a statement! You truly are the champion!" HIM appeared before Buttercup as an official referee, counting down from ten as Buttercup held down her foe in her prideful ring. "I am the Champion!" She boasted while holding her Belt high above her head.

"Yes- you are!" HIM said while rubbing his claw on her cheek. "Only a champion such as yourself deserves to become all powerful, a champion such as yourself deserves the world-" HIM slithered across the ring warping the area around them and transforming it into a mysterious cave. "Follow me-child, I'll show you a future where you alone rule as the ultimate guiding light- a champion of justice." Buttercup, completely star struck by the idea of a super self blindly followed the mysterious wizard who guided her down the winding path into her inner world. The enchanter chuckled in a devious manner as Buttercup's shadow extended outward behind her until it broke free and slithered its way to the old man becoming one with his own. "What's going on? I feel so- tired all of a-." She said just before passing out due to an unknown Miasma that filled the cave of origin.

"Yes Buttercup, you definitely are the one-!" The wizard chuckled while holding a vial filled with a  _dark_  substance. "-I will unleash that pride of yours, you  _will_  become the champion of the world!" He said in a deep pitched voice while warping back to his original form. The world around them shattered and returned to darkness as Buttercup frightfully woke up from her unnerving nightmare. "Buttercup- pipe down will ya? We're trying to sleep!" Blossom angrily mumbled while turning the other way. "Huh- oh sorry." She said while checking the time. "0436- I still have a couple more hours left. She thought to herself while getting comfortable and slowly drifting back to sleep. "I'm- the  _Champion?"_

_**...** _

**_Early the next day._ **

HIM was deep inside the confides of one of his distortions waiting very impatiently for his three wonderful children.

"Boys- get in here! I am not going to repeat myself again!"

All three Ruffs stepped in with half closed eyes still feeling a bit drowsy. "What's with all the noise? We're trying to sleep." The ruff leader said with a tired expression on his face.

"Could you do an evil task for me? I've created a very special Virus that will bring out Buttercups evil potential, fusing her with its wicked power and transform her into a demonic creature!"

"Wait what?! You want us to make her stronger? What the hell? You're supposed to make us stronger!" Brick yelled while stomping his foot on the ground. "Yeah Pops! Did you get a screw knocked loose the last time those losers beat you up?" The green-eyed ruff added.

"No you little brats- I haven't lost my mind yet! I simply want to influence her-" "Implying that you'll lose your mind later on huh? I guess we need to put you in a nursing home before you start wearing diapers too!" Brick interrupted with a smug expression on his face.

As the boys laughed at HIM's expense the light in the room shifted and the temperature rapidly increased. "Hey, is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" Boomer asked while wiping the sweat from his soaked face. All three boys gasped in fright as  _Lord_  HIM's body radiated with his Demonic power. "Boys- it's not nice to make fun of your Father like that, I might have another slip and accidentally reduce you back to your original ingredients- _again_... Do you remember how much  _fun_  we had playing that game last time? Hmm?"

"Yes- yes we do- Lord HIM!" Brick stuttered. "We're sorry!" Butch cried out. "Please don't do that again!" Boomer pleaded while all three boys knelled in submission.

"Good Boys" HIM said with a big foreboding smile. "Now- I want you three to go down to Townsville, cause some chaos and lure out their righteous heroes The Powerpuff Girls. Remember that little something I told you about a month ago? It's almost time to start phase two of the games!"

"Ugh, sure- I remember..." Brick said while scratching his head. "Of course we do..." the blue one Mumbled.

"You idiots forgot didn't you..." HIM said with an irritated expression. "Nonetheless, I want you three to subdue the girls and fire this potion at Buttercup, It's very important that you hit her with it!" HIM said while holding up the vial of demonic energy and handing it over to Brick. The boy's eyes went wide. "Wow- I can feel the evil energy coming off of it!" Butch exclaimed.

"One more thing I forgot to Mention-" HIM pointed his claw towards the boys and fired a beam of dark energy straight into their core.

Brick was stunned with an overwhelming feeling of malice. "What did you-?" "Hey Brick look I'm glowing!" Boomer exclaimed as he felt all powerful. "Yeah me too!" Butch added.

"-Today's also the day you finally defeat the Powerpuff Girls once and for all! This power I gave you is only temporary- however, I can make this a permanent feeling later on if you'd like-." HIM glared at his creations, they were busy goofing around and hitting each others upper arms.

HIM slightly more annoyed screeched in his deep demonic voice. "Now! Go jack up some townspeople and lure them out, do this for me and the world is ours!"

"Wait- why should we?" Brick questioned as he punched Butch in the arm. "Yeah, what's in it for us if we turn Buttercup into that demonic whats it?" Boomer added. "You three-!" HIM's veins started to pulsate. "DO AS YOU'RE TOLD OR I WILL TURN YOU INTO LITERAL INSECTS!" HIM screamed as his entire body combusted in flames and he pointed his claw at the boys. "OK you win!" The boys cried as they hastily flew to Townsville to initiate HIM's plan.

_**...** _

* * *

_**Later that day.** _

_**...** _

The Powerpuff Girls were busy studying in the 2nd grade eagerly waiting for the bell to ring for lunch; Buttercup was struggling to stay awake while Bubbles was trying to figure out multiplacations when the hotline rang. Blossom quickly answered the phone.

"Yes mayor, what's the trouble?"

"Blossom! Get to Townsville fast! The Rowdyruff boys are destroying everything and jacking up the townspeople!"

"You call that a taco!" Brick yelled in the background as he smacked someone across the head.

"Alright mayor, we're on our way! Girls, the Boys are causing trouble again, let's go!" Blossom commanded just as Buttercup's head slammed onto the desk and she snapped out of her daydream. "Huh, what? A fight? Alright let's go!"

The girls quickly flew downtown where they found the Rowdyruff Boys destroying the 99 cent store and raiding the snack stand. "Alright boys put the clerk, the Cheetos, and the Funyuns down!" Blossom commanded. "Well, well, looks like we finally lured you three clowns out of hiding; now it's time to FIGHT!" Brick yelled as the ruffs took the initiative and rapidly dashed towards the girls; they gave them all a swift super kick to the face sending the girls flying high in the sky from the attack. The boys quickly rushed behind them and super punched them smack into the street.

"Owwwyyyyy that really hurt" Bubbles cried as she rubbed her bottom. "What's up with these guys? Why are they glowing like that?" Blossom questioned while rubbing her head.

Before anyone could reply the boys rushed up to them again. "Take this!" Brick yelled as the girls were painfully beaten into the ground with a flurry of super punches to the face. The girls lay beaten in the crater, the boys picked each girl up by the shirt and super punched them again and again in the gut. Buttercup leg started twitching after the onslaught.

"Uh, I think I killed her." Butch said with a grin.

"You idiot we need her alive!" Brick yelled while smacking Butch across the head.

"Sorry- I guess I don't know my own strength since we got this power up." Butch shrugged.

"Well toss her aside, you can keep beating Blossom- I'm going to infect her with the virus!" Brick said while dropping Blossom back into the crater and pulling out the vial of Demonic energy.

"I think he said all I need to do is open it and point it at her- right?" Brick mumbled as he pulled the top off of the vial releasing its foreboding energy and causing the air to feel incredibly thick with malice.

"It's time." HIM said as he watched on the big screen from is domain.

"Woah- this thing feels wickedly evil! "Brick said as Butch got Buttercup in position away from her sisters just as she was waking up. "Well Buttercup- its been nice knowing ya, but it's time for you to say good night sucker!" The red Ruff proclaimed as he fired the demonic energy at his target; It launched out towards her in a spiral fashion piercing her flesh and infusing deep within her soul.

"Buttercup!" Her sisters both cried out as they frantically tried pushing the boys off of them only to get knocked out by another super punch to the face. Brick yelled as he moved his arm across his face to block the purple flashing light emitting from his victim.

Buttercup screamed in agony at the top of her lungs; Her entire body was surrounded by dark red ribbons of demonic energy that orbited around her in a sphere, she was glowing with a dark purple aura and her entire body was pulsating with unrest.

Lord HIM's eyes were glued to the monitor as something unexpected was transpiring. "What's going on?! Why isn't it transforming her?! She should be warping into a damn Demon by now!" HIM smashed his claw into the arm rest of his seat. "Wait- it's fusing with her soul right?" He quickly analyzed her energy output from his monitor. "Hmm- Maybe." He then materialized his log book and rapidly flipped through the pages frantically searching for  _something_. "Could it be?" His eyes grew wide with ecstatic excitement. "Yes- This is quite the unexpected surprise!" He chuckled in a devious manner. " _Demonic Fusion_."

Buttercup's body was then surrounded by a black swirling vortex of evil energy that condensed deep inside her soul vanishing while leaving only a shell of what she once was. She stood motionless with wide blackened eyes and pale white skin. Her body twitched violently as she screamed at the top of her lungs; she then levitated as her skin tore apart and exploded with twisted power. Her sisters and the boys got hit by the massive shock wave and were tossed back like leaves in the wind. Buttercup stood in the middle of the cracked road, her clothes, eyes and energy where all glowing dark purple.

"Wha-what happened?" Buttercup mumbled to herself as she looked down at her dark colored clothes. "Yeah what happened? I thought when I used that vial it would transform you into a demon! Well no matter, your sisters are beaten and you're all alone so we'll just finish you right now!" Brick yelled as his and his brothers glowing aura faded away.

The boys dashed towards her and tried to kick her into the street again but they missed. Buttercup appeared behind them and swung her leg smacking Boomer in the face, she then dashed up and super punched Brick in the gut and shot Butch with her evil dark purple laser eyes.

"What's going on? I feel so much stronger and faster than before!" Buttercup started glowing with dark energy as she dashed towards the boys.

She super punched Brick in the gut as hard as she could and followed up with a super kick to his face sending him into a nearby tower destroying it on impact. She then swiftly flew over to Butch's side and with an evil grin pointed her hand at his face; Butch froze up as Buttercup fired a dark purple ball of demonic energy at point blank range. Butch was sent flying into a building causing it to collapse on top of him which knocked him out of the fight.

Boomer dashed behind Buttercup and quickly tried grabbing her but she swiftly avoided it and kneed him in the gut; Boomer flew high and Buttercup quickly chased after him. She swung her leg around and super kicked him back down towards the battered street creating a small crater as he impacted. Brick was alone, wounded but still willing to fight. " tahh-is that all you got?" Brick Mustered up his strength. "I'm not done with you… not by a long shot." He said confidently.

But before Brick could counterattack; Lord HIM arrived on the battlefield and grabbed his arm. "Not yet, you will have your chance soon." Him said as he and the Boys vanished in a dark red mist.

"What was that about? Well, I guess I better go see how Blossom and Bubbles are doing." Buttercup said as she flew down to check on her sisters condition. Suddenly she felt a painful shock all throughout her body and she started feeling increasingly weaker; her dark purple eyes and clothes started to fade away and turn green again. "Feel-so-tired, but I… need to help… my sisters." And with those words Buttercup collapsed on the battered street, exhausted and seemingly back to normal.

_**...** _

**_The next day Buttercup awoke in her bed, confused and weary from the day before._ **

"Wha- where? I'm-home?" She said while scanning her surroundings. Just then the Professor walked in and saw her up. "Ah glad to see you're feeling better, you had such a hard fight."

"Professor what happened to me?" Buttercup asked in a concerned tone. "Well, I don't know. When you feel a little better can you see me in my lab, I would like to talk to you about something and find out what it was that caused you to turn purple like that." The Professor said while placing a cold glass of water on the dresser.

"You saw it?"

"No your sisters told me about it. That reminds me, breakfast is ready so go eat up and just relax for a while O.K.?"

"O.K. Professor."

_**To Be Continued** _

 


	2. More than Just Super Powers!

_**PPG Bleached: Fade to Black** _

_**Chapter** _ _**II** _

_**More than Just Super Powers!** _

* * *

After Breakfast, downstairs in the laboratory; Professor Utonium was summarizing what just happened and what it could mean for his girls.

"Now then, Let's start from the beginning. You three rushed to Townsville and came across the Rowdy Ruff Boys, after a tough fight you were defeated and at which time the boys fired a beam of weird light at Buttercup causing her to turn dark purple; in addition to a color swap she gained an incredible boost to her super powers right?" All three girls nodded. "And after HIM vanished with the boys Buttercup returned to normal and passed out shortly after; did I miss anything?" The Professor questioned while reaching for his notebook. "That about sums it up." Blossom replied.

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure what that energy was that hit you nor do I have a definite answer as to why you turned purple and got stronger; but it might be some new super power that you just unlocked! Like maybe it's a temporary boost that you can use in tough fights or some sorta new skill; speaking of which, Blossom didn't you recently learn a new ice ability?" "I sure did!" Blossom happily boasted while forming ice crystals around her body. "And Bubbles, you also learn some weird skill that heals injuries not too long ago as well?" "¡Si! And you didn't call it weird when I helped the townspeople who got hurt after a Monster attacks!" Bubbles hastily stated while crossing her arms. "You did get in trouble with the local Hospital after you opened that free health clinic at the park though..." The Professor quickly reminded her. Bubbles quickly looked away in embarrassment.

"Now, back to the topic at hand. Buttercup, is their anything that you remember happening to you or the boys mentioning anything when you got hit by that beam? I want to see if anything you recall might explain why you turned purple." The Professor said as he clicked the top of his pen.

"It's all really fuzzy. I only remember bits and piec- wait, I do remember Brick mentioning something about a demon...or maybe a monster..." "A d-demon!?" The Professor stuttered as he almost dropped his pen. "I don't really know... I felt tremendous pain; my head was being filled with evil thoughts and temptations. I didn't like it. I fought the temptations back as much as I could; my anger and desire to help my sisters kept me from falling asleep. That's when everything went dark and I exploded with energy. Before I knew it I was dark purple and had tremendous power and speed."

"Interesting, maybe that beam was something more then just a weapon. well, let's say that it's just a new ability you unlocked; how about you three go into the simulator for some practice. With all three of you learning new abilities recently it might be a good idea to train." "Sounds like fun!" Blossom exclaimed. Buttercup shook her head trying to forget the weird feeling of dread that overwhelmed her earlier. "Let's do it!" She yelled as she was getting pumped. Bubbles not really wanting to train but didn't want to get left out somberly agreed.

The girls all walked into the simulator together while the professor set up the program. "Alright girls are you ready?" "Yes!" "Simulation starting in 3...2...1... Begin!"

**_..._ **

_**A few hours later.** _

The girls fought their way up to Level 14 and where physically exhausted. They took a 3 hour long break and ate a hearty sized lunch while they rested in the living room. "Alright girls, how do you feel? Are you ready go back into the simulator?" Blossom turned to her sisters. "I'm good, are you guys ready?" "Let's go!" Buttercup replied. Bubbles just nodded as she reluctantly started stretching. As the girls flew back into the chamber Buttercup's stomach started to growl. "Professor, can we order Pizza?" "You're Hungry already?" Blossom giggled. "Shu-shut up!" Buttercup crossed her arms and looked away in embarrassment as her sisters laughed. "Alright, I'm actually in the mood for some pizza so I'll place it on order once I start the simulator." "Thanks Professor!" Buttercup happily replied.

Once inside the Professor put the simulator on Level 15 and called Pizza King to place an order. About an hour later the Professor was sipping on some coffee when the doorbell rang. "That must be the Pizza!" He set his coffee down on the edge of the monitor and quickly got off of his chair. The chair spun around and bumped the table knocking the coffee over and spilling it on an exposed Terminal that the professor was previously working on.

The girls just finished Level 18 when the simulator went haywire. The digital world was jumping around and a loud white noise pierced our heroes ears. "What's going on?" Blossom questioned while covering her ears. Giant monsters suddenly spawned and savagely attacked the girls; the leveling system was rapidly climbing higher and higher as the girls fought their way through. "What's happening? Is there a virus in the simulator or something?" Blossom cried out as she noticed more monsters spawning. After several intense minutes of fighting the girls defeated all the enemies in view. The simulator started smoking and jumped to Level 38; dozens of powerful monsters spawned and quickly surrounded them. "Not this again!" Buttercup yelled as they continued fighting near exhaustion.

_**...** _

"Alright Pizza's here and paid for, now I'll just set the table and then I'll get the girls out of the simulator. I wonder how there doing in there?" Professor wondered while opening the cabinets.

_**...** _

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Blossom screamed as she was being crushed by a monster, Bubbles was being chased by a swarm of giant flying monsters and Buttercup was struggling to save Blossom from its iron grip. Before the girls could do anything else the simulation malfunctioned again, a loud static sound screeched as the graphical outline of the monsters and buildings where glitching and jumping around. Then it skipped all the way to Level 50. The room was all jumbled and glitchy with messed up graphics and an eerie white noise piercing the girls ears again. "Where, where are we?" Bubbles asked with a nervous tone in her voice.

Suddenly dozens of monsters digitized around the girls, their appearances were all deformed and the roars were all gargled with interference. "What is wrong with the simulator? Professor turn it off! Profess-" Before Blossom could finish her sentence she was quickly tackled by a monster with a missing head, all she could see was the digital outline of its face. Bubbles and Buttercup where surrounded by a gang of demented thugs that quickly started beating them down; the PPG were way past their limits and fighting just to stay alive. Buttercup scurrying to escape was grabbed by a spiked monster and thrown back down to the ground.

"I can't lose here, I won't lose to you damn freaks." Buttercup yelled in frustration. Just then five fierce monsters jumped on her, they savagely beat and smashed her body into a crater. Buttercup in fit of rage yelled at the top of her lungs. "GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!"

Her body started glowing dark purple and with an enormous explosion of dark energy she sent all the monsters flying in different directions causing them to crashed into something and explode into a fireball on impact. When the smoke cleared Buttercup stumbled a bit but quickly regained her footing on the cracked road, her clothes and eyes were once again glowing dark Purple. "Wha- huh? I've done it! I unlocked my new powers again!" Buttercup quickly flew high in the sky. "Now then, where's Blossom and Bubbles?"

On the other side of town Blossom was fighting a towering creature that had fused together with other smaller monsters; the beast had grown overwhelmingly powerful as a result. It launched one of it arms but Blossom swiftly dodged it. She then flew up and started punching its mutated face, one of its tentacles reach up and grabbed her while it started squeezing her tightly. It then rapidly smashed her onto a wrecked car over and over again then threw her away into a nearby building.

Blossom got up slowly, her head was bleeding and she was unable to stand up straight. She looked up and with her blurry vision noticed the monster picking up all of its tentacles and arms to finish her off. "I….have…to move." Blossom mumbled as her legs gave out and she collapsed on the rubble. "It can't end here... I need strength, I have to WIN!" Blossom screamed in frustration as she mustered up all her remaining will power, her body turned bright pink and exploded with energy.

The monster flew back several dozen feet as Blossom stood back up and saw her reflection in a puddle of water. Her clothes and her eyes were a similar color to that of a pink rose and her body emitted a light pink glow. The monster got back up and tried ambushing her, Blossom quickly noticed it rushing towards her and dashed out of the way. She then quickly dodged another one of its arms and jumped up towards its distorted face.

She threw a mighty super punch at its face stunning it long enough for her to freeze it with her ice breath, she then tried powering up a pink beam of energy but it was fiery red instead. Scorching hot flames shot out of the orb as she fired the blast at the encased monster destroying it and seting the remains ablaze.

"D-Did I get new powers or something?!" Blossom stared at her hands as they started to tremble; her body felt a shock as she reverted back to normal. "Wha-I feel so tired..." She felt light headed as her legs gave way and she threw up a bit. "Ah, their's no time for this... I need to find my sisters!" Off in the distance she heard a loud scream as she was struggling to get back up. "Was that Bubbles?"

**_..._ **

Professor had just finished setting the table when he heard the smoke alarm go off. "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!" "What the?" Professor saw smoke coming from his lab and he panicked. "My babies!" He cried as he rushed down into his lab and saw that his simulator had a small fire and sparks shooting out. "Oh My Goodness! What Happened!" Professor quickly got a fire extinguisher and tried to put out the fire.

_**...** _

Bubbles was being squeezed to death by a giant snake monster and she couldn't break free. She was on the verge of losing consciousness when Blossom found her. "Bubbles you have to fight back! Don't let it defeat you!" Blossom yelled as she arrived at the scene. Bubbles's vision was getting blurry as she saw different moments in her past. "Is my life...flashing before my eyes? I didn't even want to train... I don't want to die..." Tears ran down her face as she slowly drifted off into the darkness.

Bubbles saw a bright light at the end of a long dark tunnel as her inner light started to fade. "You're hardcore!" She saw her lost sister Bunny smiling, her silhouette blocked out part of the light. "Hardcore?"Bubbles questioned. She then saw everyone she cared about in the background. They were cheering. "Wake up!" She then remembered her Hard Core faze, when she was her strongest. "No fear, be strong, and don't give up. Right? That's right! I must be Hard Core!" She then faintly saw the outline of a glowing Blossom desperately trying to pull her out of the snakes clutches and crying for her to wake up.

Bubbles's eyes opened as she started concentrating all her remaining energy into freeing herself and destroying her captor. Her body started glowing white as she exploded in a mist of dark blue energy and broke free from the monsters tail. She flew high into the sky just to swoop back down and super punched the monster hard in the face. It was launched back into several buildings as Bubbles chased after it, she then threw dozens of powerful dark blue balls of energy at it peppering the monster with large explosions of ice energy. She then powered up a large white orb, Bubbles showing no mercy launched it at the doomed monster blowing it away in a ferocious gust of gale force wind.

The monster laid in rubble not moving as Bubbles slowly approached its corpse and looked down on her fresh kill. Blossom then appeared behind her transformed into her new power, Bubbles on an adrenaline rush of raw emotion pointed her hand with an already formed blue ball of energy at Blossoms face. "Whoa, wait it's me Blossom! don't you remember?" "Oh, Blossom..." she quickly receded the ball of energy. "I guess I won huh?" "Yeah." Blossom answered with a concerned smile.

"What just happened to me? I-is this some sort of new super power?" "Yeah, I think so... Bubbles, are you okay?" Blossom asked as she walked over to her. Bubbles turned to Blossom and grabbed her with tears in her eyes. "I was so scared!" Just then Buttercup found them. "I finally found you guys! Hmm, it looks like you also got some new powers too!" Buttercup exclaimed as she twirled in the sky showing off her new purple form. "Yeah we did." Blossom replied while holding onto Bubbles who just then reverted back to normal.

"So how do we get out of he-re?" Buttercup asked just as her power gave way and she tumbled down to the ground in exhaustion. "Well-the simulation should be over once we defeat every monster or someone stops it from the control room, but nothings been working right so I'm not sure. Are you alright?" Blossom asked as she watched Buttercup struggle to get back up.

The door creaked opened and the Professor looked inside. "Oh, my word! Girls, girls where are you?" "You here that? It's the Professor!" Bubbles happily announced while regaining some energy. Blossom pointing towards where the sound originated commanded. "Let's go girls." They were making their way across the ruins of the corrupted city when everything started to fall apart. "Oh no! Girls, hurry up the simulation is terminating itself and you might get trapped inside if you don't hurry!"

The girls heeding the Professors warning flew as fast as they could towards his voice when Bubbles spotted the exit, they all dashed through the door and crashed into the wall as the Professor slammed it shut. He then quickly terminated the simulation by cutting the power. "I am so sorry girls! I didn't expect any of this to hap-pen..." He noticed all three of his girls were knocked out on the floor, beaten and exhausted. "Oh my God!" He rushed to their aid and desperately tried to wake them up.

"Buttercup slowly opened her eyes as the professor was taking them to their rooms. "Profess-or...?" "Buttercup! Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" "What happened?" "I'm so sorry, my coffee must of spilled on the terminal and shorted out the simulator." He set them down gently on their bed. "Look at you three, look at what I did... I'm so sorry..." "It's alright Professor, if it wasn't for that malfunction we wouldn't have found these new powers." "New Powers? well, let's talk about it later, you three need some well deserved rest." "OK Professor" While the girls slept away The Professor went back down to the lab to think of how he could help his girls during and after tough battles like this.

**...**

The next day, a little after twelve o'clock the girls woke up from their long slumber. "Whoa we're late for school!" Blossom yelled. "Wait, isn't in Saturday?" Bubbles mumbled as she wiped drool off her face. "Oh yeah, I forgot." "Come on, let's go eat. I'm starving!" Buttercup said as she jumped out of the bed. The girls got dressed and flew down stairs for a late breakfast. When they got to the kitchen The Professor was nowhere to be seen. "Where's the Professor?" Buttercup asked. "Let's check the lab" Bubbles suggested.

They flew down to the lab and saw The Professor cautiously mixing chemicals. "What are you doing Professor?" They asked in unison. "Girls!" The Professor jumped as he fumbled with the chemicals almost knocking them over. "I'm so glad that you're all alright!" "yeah, we feel pretty sore all over but other than that we feel fine." Blossom explained. "What are you working on?" She continued. "I'm working on a new type of healing serum, I call it X Recovery! It's chemical X based and if my calculations are correct it should give you rapid healing and restore most of your energy over time!" "Wow." the girls replied in unison again. "Also the simulator's fixed, I triple checked. So you can return and do more training whenever you feel better." "Can we get some Breakfast first?" Buttercup asked while rubbing her stomach. "Oh, I'm sorry I almost forgot!" He hastily replied while putting his equipment away.

* * *

_**-The girls would continue to train in the simulator and learn more about these new super powers; in the coming months they would also learn how dangerous these powers are to their spiritual and bodily health.** _

_**To Be Continued** _


	3. Deadly Dance

_**PPG Bleached: Fade to Black** _

_**Chapter III** _

_**Deadly Dance** _

* * *

_**6 Months later** _

The girls had spent countless hours training and modifying their new " _Release Forms_ ", creating personalized versions based on their individual fighting styles and abilities. However, due to the intense mental and physical strain their transformations puts on their bodies they only release their energy in a dire emergency or for training purposes.

Bubbles's powers allow her to use all elemental and healing magic. Additionally, she is the fastest of her sisters while also being physically weaker. As a result of her magical potential she named this her Star form.

Blossom is able to use some elemental magic, but her healing abilities are very limited. In exchange for limited magical potential she gains incredible strength and speed. She named this her Black Rose form in reference to the fact that her power can increase or decrease due to her emotions.

Buttercup is the polar opposite of Bubbles, she can't use any magic but her physical attack abilities are stronger than her other sisters. She is also able to temporarily drastically increase her strength and speed when her life is in danger in exchange for extra stamina loss. She named this her Valor form due to the explosive and power driven nature of her abilities.

It was the middle of September and the girls were running late for school; they were now in the Third grade in the newly appointed Ms. Keane's homeroom. While the girls rushed to get ready the Hotline rang. Blossom hastily grabbed the phone while fixing her hair. "Yes Mayor?" "Blossom, come quick! There's a giant monster attacking the city!" "Ah- alright- we're on our way!" Blossom quickly hung up and finished brushing her hair.

"Girls- we've got trouble in Townsville! Let's get moving!" "But what about school?" Bubbles quickly questioned while putting on her shoes. "We don't have time, I guess we're gonna be late today!" Blossom hastily answered while also slipping on her shoes. "But- it's the big chili carnival today! You know I've been practicing everyday for the past couple weeks for this competition!" Bubbles angrily cried. "Bubbles! The city is in danger! The cook off is just gonna have to wait!" Blossom quickly countered with a serious tone. Bubbles quickly turned her head and pouted. "I guess so!" She sulky replied.

"You guys go on to school, I'll take care of the monster by-myself!" Buttercup confidently suggested. "Are you sure? What if you get into some sort of trouble?" Blossom worriedly asked while sensing an ulterior motive. "Don't worry- if I run into something out the ordinary I'll transform and kick their butts! Besides, it's been kinda quite these past few days. I'm just itching to get some action!" She boastfully answered while pounding her fist. "Alright- but if you don't come back to school in 30 minutes then we're coming after you- I don't want to have to find you eating the other contestants chili before lunch!" Blossom threatened.

"Pffft, that's more than enough time. In fact- I'm leaving right now- bye!" She said while racing out the window and heading downtown. "Alright Bubbles- let's hurry up and get to school before we're late!" "Way-ahead of you sucker!" Bubbles said while rocketing out the window leaving her sister in the dust. "Wait you forgot your bag!" Blossom hastily said while grabbing their stuff and jetting out the window as well.

As the girls arrived in the courtyard of the school they heard the 5 minute warning sound off. "Oh no- we'd better hurry!" Blossom said as they felt the ground shake followed by the distant sound of an explosion and buildings collapsing. "Did you hear that?" Bubbles asked with a worried expression. "Yeah- Buttercup might need some help." "But the chili!?" Bubbles cried. "Forget about the chili! Go tell Ms. Keane that we're going to be late. I'll go look for Buttercup- and don't just stay in class either!" Blossom commanded while soaring off to Townsville leaving her sister to further sulk in the middle of the school yard.

"Buttercup- I sure hope you're alright." Blossom thought to her self as she arrive at the epicenter of the explosion. "What on earth happened here?" She landed near the large smoke filled crater, it was filled with chard debris and smoldering chunks of what appeared to be some sort of meat. Blossom further investigated the area and found a large tusk accompanied by a dark green backpack adjacent to it. Blossom's hands started to tremble- fearing the worst she opened the bag and found that it indeed belonged to her sister. Blossom grew ever silent as she examined the smoldering remains- determining that it belonged to the monster she scoured the area desperately searching for her sister. She stopped short of crying out Buttercup's name- sensing something ominous watching her. She quickly turned and witnessed a petrifying scene. Her body tensed up as her eyes dilated and her heart raced like a jackhammer nearly out of her chest. She struggled to get the words out to describe what kind of creature she's currently staring at, a truly haunting sight.

"Man- Buttercup better have a good excuses for getting beat up and making miss out on my prep time." Bubbles mumbled to herself as she heard a series of explosions followed by more buildings collapsing. "What was that!?" She said as she stopped mid-air to investigate. She noticed two trails of light zipping around in a clash of power off in the distance creating shock waves on each consecutive strike. "I think that's Blossom- I wonder who she's fighting?" Bubbles thought as she scrambled to her sisters aid.

Blossom soared through the air with a dark colored smoke trail chasing her as she crashed hard onto the street below bouncing off and tumbling a few times while loosing momentum. She struggled to get back up; her lungs gasped desperately for air as the wind got knocked out of her when she smacked onto the pavement a moment ago. Her head was bleeding, her cloths were torn, and she was covered in scratches. "What power- this thing is too strong! I need to do something fast before it's too late!" She thought to herself as she wheezed with every attempted breath.

Just in time, Bubbles arrived on scene. "Blossom- are you Okay?" She said while preparing to heal her injuries. "Yeah- don't worry about me. There's this thing lurking around here- I don't know what it is, but it kinda looks like Buttercup." "It looks like Buttercup?" "Yeah- I don't know why, but when you see it- you'll know what I mean." Blossom said finally catching her breath. "Bubbles- Don't be afraid to release your energy." She proclaimed while taking a short break. Bubbles's eyes grew wide as she knew what that entailed. "Alright then." She said hesitantly as a mysterious figure appeared down the ruined block.

Her eyes grew wide with petrifying fright as she was being stared down by a foreboding nightmare, a creature of pure evil- her own sister. "Buttercup? Is that you?" She struggled to say. The creature stared menacingly towards the lone Powerpuff Girl; it's eyes, body and aura oozed a wicked dark purple glow and its face- although shrouded by darkness was twisted and full of destructive malice. Bubbles turned to Blossom with fear driven eyes, but before she could say anything the doppelganger had lunged forward and landed a powerful kick to her face sending her crashing down the block and smacking into a far off building at the end of a T intersection. "Bubbles!" Blossom cried as she counter attacked.

The Creature swung its fist towards her face but Blossom swiftly countered grabbing its arm and flipping it smack onto the street. She then swung her leg at its face but missed as the creature bounced away and fired a powerful dark purple blast of energy at her core. Blossom shielded the blast and countered a follow up attack by landing a swift kick to its chin. She then quickly lunged forward and grabbed both of its hands- light and darkness both angrily gripped each other tightly in a power struggle that rocked the area causing the street to crack slightly. Blossom screamed as she transformed into her Black Rose form- her aura radiated violently as both adversaries struggled for an upper-hand in their deadlock. "I can't maintain this any longer- I'm completely exhausted!" She thought as her body felt increasingly fatigued. Suddenly a light blue streak landed a powerful kick to the creatures face sending it flying towards the Bonsai Gardens district. Blossom reverted back and fell to her knees, her vision was fading in and out as her strength escaped her and she struggled to stay awake.

A series of explosions and magic bursts roared violently across the panicked city as the two fighters fought high in the sky; the doppelganger still wounded from its battle with Blossom was quickly losing ground. It swirled around twisting its body like a shadow as it surrounded its prey and viciously attacked her from different angles with powerful punches and blast. Bubbles crashed hard through a few buildings before smacking into a parking lot knocking her out of her release form. She struggled to get back up as she noticed her target racing towards her once again. Bubbles concentrated her energy and forcefully transformed back- barely missing another kick from the shadow which crashed into the pavement behind her. Bubbles in desperation super punched the creature high in the sky- just then, Blossom appeared above them and Super kicked it back towards her sister. "Bubbles!" Blossom cried hoping for a swift rebound. Bubbles running on pure instinct gathered light energy in her palm and fired a beam in a last ditch effort to stop the creatures rampage- piercing it straight through.

The doppelganger let out a haunting roar as the darkness left its body reverting it back to Buttercup's original form. "Buttercup!" Both girls cried as they rushed to catch her from her free fall. "Is she-?" Blossom started to say before noticing that she was still breathing and without a hole in her core. "Come on- let's take her home so I can heal her while the Professor watches over her." Bubbles commanded while reverting back to normal. "Right!" Blossom said while putting her unconscious sister on her shoulder.

The girls returned home carrying an unconscious Buttercup into the Professor's lab. The Professor was enjoying a nice cup of coffee when the three came down.

"Oh my heavens! Girls what happened to you all?!" The Professor cried almost spitting out his coffee. "It was Buttercup! She turned all dark and twisted and-and...sh-She just attacked us without reason an-and!" Blossom trying to put what happened into words was quickly interrupted by the Professor.

"Okay-okay- calm down! Put her on the bed over in the corner." Blossom and Bubbles gently set Buttercups body on the hospital bed that the Professor used when the girls were injured. "Will she be alright?" Bubbles asked feeling guilty for almost killing her.

"I sure hope so. For now let her rest, but while we wait for her to wake up tell me exactly what happened."

_**The Girls told the Professor the details.** _

"I see, so you just found her like that?" The girls nodded. "You know- I've always wondered about Buttercup's powers. Like why she turns purple instead of green, or why she kinda gives off an ominous vibe when she uses her release form. I can't exactly make heads or tails of it but it might have something to do with that dark beam that the Rowdyruff Boys hit her with a while back; I mean- she _did_  unlock her  _Release_  form because of it... But then why did you two also unlock it later on? I'll think about it some more while I tend to her injuries, you two should stay home and get some rest."

"But Professor! What about the chili cook off?" Bubbles cried out while Blossom glared out of annoyance. "The final judging was at eleven right?" The Professor asked while checking his watch. "Yeah- I bet I can still win if we leave now!" She said hoping he might change his mind. "I'm sorry Bubbles, but it's already just past ten o'clock. I don't think you're gonna make it this time. How about I go to the store and you can make chili for dinner?" He suggested trying to cheer her up. "Okay Professor." She replied with a disappointed half smile.

The girls headed upstairs to wash up and take a long well deserved nap. "Now then- where should I go from here?" The Professor contemplated to himself while turning on his computer.

_**Two hours later…** _

The girls where fast asleep when Buttercup started to toss and turn. "Oh- look who's up" "Wh-Where am I? What happened?" She questioned while struggling to sit up. "Easy, don't try to get up just yet. You've been injured- so just lay back down and relax." "Huh? How did I get all beat up like this?" She said while trying to get back up. "Hold on sweetie, can you tell me anything you remember happening shortly after you left to save Townsville earlier today?" The Professor asked while trying to set her back down.

"Hmm- I don't really recall... wait- I remember a monster... I arrived in town and found a monster attacking the city- I wanted to make it back in time to sneak some chili at the festival, so I released my energy to beat it up a lot faster and to make sure it didn't come back before I ate my fill of food. But then- everything went dark... I felt lost, I couldn't see, and my head was being filled with evil thoughts and temptations. I couldn't do anything about it- it was suffocating me with its toxic influence." (Buttercup sees a mental image of a dark figure standing in a barren field) Her eyes trembled as its haunting smile lingered in the back of her mind. "Nothing- I just woke up and that's all I remember."

"Interesting- I wonder if it really does have to do with that incident." The Professor mumbled to himself.

"What incident?" Buttercup questioned.

"Oh it's nothing. I'm just thinking out loud. I'll try to whip up a new batch of X-Recovery to help with your wounds so in the meantime; why don't you get some more rest." "Okay Professor." Buttercup closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep while The Professor started prepping the ingredients for his  _elixir_. "After this is done, I can finish the development of that new project. I just hope the prototypes actually work." He thought to himself while pulling out a few blue prints that he had been previously working on.

_**In a distortion somewhere in between our world and the next an evil demon plots with his three sons.** _

"Ready boys?"

"Yeah we'll cream those losers." Brick roared.

"Excellent, you boys remember what to do right?"

"Yeah, with our training and _new powers-_  we'll destroy the Powerpuff Girls!" Butch yelled.

"And after we beat them up- we'll capture Buttercup  _dead or alive_!" Boomer added.

"And with our new  _allies_ \- we'll take over the world!" Brick boasted while clenching his fist.

"Exactly boys, this is your final test before we speed things up to phase 4. Things have been kinda rushed lately due to that _incident_... Also-did you meet our new comrades yet?"

"No we haven't, besides-we don't even know exactly what that incident was or what you're planning on doing with Buttercups body." Brick replied wanting answers.

HIM smirked while placing his claws on his hips. "Don't worry boys-let's just say it's going to be a dark Christmas this year." And with those words HIM vanished in a wall of fire leaving his boys alone to prepare for the battle ahead.

_**The next day** _

Buttercup was fully healed and feeling great thanks to The Professors X-Recovery. Blossom and Bubbles were eating breakfast when they saw Buttercup coming down. "Buttercup!" They both exclaimed as they flew up to her. "Are you okay? Do you feel better?" Bubbles questioned.

"I feel great- and good as new too!" Buttercup happily replied while flexing.

"Well I'm glad to hear that! We were so worried about you!" Blossom said as she pulled out a chair for her.

"Alright! Time for some Ce-re-al!" Buttercup exclaimed while shaking her butt. She then grabbed the frosted flakes from the top shelf and had just started pouring it into her bowl when the Professor called. "Girls get down here!" Buttercup a little annoyed rushed down to the lab with her sisters to see what the Professor wanted.

"What is it Professor? What's wrong?" Blossom questioned. "I've done it! I've finally finished my new inventions!" "What is it?" She questioned further. "Behold-" The Professor stated while lifting a blanket. "-These are your new power enhancers!" "Whoa!" the girls replied in unison. "What do we need them for?" Bubbles added.

"Let me explain- These power enhancers are actually a type of stabilizer; I made them to help you control your powers. You see- a few months ago after I saw how exhausted you three got whenever you trained with your boosted powers for long duration's of time; It made me think- how can I channel their energy and make it more viable to use in long fights? Make them more efficient? Well here it is! These medians should help stabilize and enhance your powers so you can use it to its fullest potential! I made them based on your personality traits and your powers abilities:

-Blossom you get a heart charm. You can wear it on your wrist like a bracelet or you could use it as a belt, the band is a type of elastic so you don't have to worry about breaking it.

-Bubbles you get a wand. I thought that since your powers allow you to attack enemies at a distance and your physical attributes aren't that high you should have something that would allow you to channel your magic and make them stronger at long range.

-Lastly Buttercup. I thought about this for a while, and I made you a beam saber. This is only the hilt and guard of the saber now but once you channel your powers through it the saber will manifest itself. Its power comes from you, all you have to do to unleash its abilities is concentrate your own power into the saber and release it outward. Try visualizing a black ball surrounded by white and make the black ball as black as possible. After that try making the black ball expand till it explodes, then channel the power of the explosion into your saber and let it all out. Be careful with these stabilizers girls. Now then- why don't you all go to the simulator and try using them. I barely got to test them myself so I have no idea if they actually work!"

"Awww, but I haven't had Breakfast yet!" Buttercup complained."

"Oh all right- go eat something and come back down later." The Professor replied feeling a bit bummed out.

"Okay!" The girls exclaimed as they all sat back down to finish their breakfast, but before Buttercup could take her first bite of cereal the hotline rang.

"Darn It!" She cried as she pounded her fist on the table.

"Girls- Girls- come quick! The Rowdyruff Boys are destroying the city! Please come save us! Something's terribly wrong with the way their acti-BWHAAAAA!" The line went silent. "Girls! Let's go! Something's wrong in Townsville! I just lost communication with the Mayor!" Blossom commanded with a concerned under tone as she noticed Buttercup scarfing down her cereal.

"Wait! You forgot your equipment! I want you to field test them!" The Professor cried while rushing up the stairs.

"Oh fine- give them to us." Blossom said a little irritated at his persistence.

As the girls were on their way downtown Buttercup clenched tightly onto her new saber. "I have a bad feeling about this."

_**To be continued** _

_Little did she know that the peaceful life that she lived in was about to end, and the events of the future will lead her and her sisters down the road to a blood stained tragedy._


	4. PPG Vs RRB

PPG Bleached: Fade to Black

Chapter IV 

PPG vs RRB

The girls arrived to see part of the city in ruin and towering pillars of smoke filling the air around them.

"What happened here?" Blossom questioned in a state of shock at the carnage. "Look, there they are." Buttercup pointed out. Right, let's end this fight as quickly as possible!" Blossom commanded as the girls quickly flew towards the boys location.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to show up." Brick smirked while pounding his fist. "You need to stop this nonsense boys, what did these people ever do to you!" Blossom interrogated. "These people didn't do anything, they were just sacrifices too lure you three here." Brick answered with a twisted smile.

All three girls gasp in shock. "Wha… What! You mean you destroyed all of these innocent peoples homes and businesses just too get us to fight you!" Buttercup yelled in a fit of rage.

Dark clouds start billowing over Townsville as thunder could be heard off in the distance, the wind gradually picked up as well.

Buttercup enraged grips the hilt of her saber tightly. "You... are the lowest of the low, you pick on others weaker than you and destroy everything just to get your way, you don't deserve to have super powers-you...YOU MONSTERS!"

"Buttercup cool it don't let them get to you!" Blossom yelled. "It's true; all we want to do is destroy you! And were not going to let anything stop us! Am I right!" Brick Boasted. "Yeah!" The other two boys replied. The boys flew up into the air and started powering up.

"What's with them?" Bubbles questioned. "I don't know, they don't seem to be the same as before." Blossom answered. "You don't think that HIM might of done something to them do you?" Buttercup asked. "I don't know, that would explain why there acting this way, but why would HIM brain wash them for?" Blossom wondered.

The dark clouds billowing overhead choked out the suns light, the only illumination was from the ominous glow of the fire. The boys exploded with dark blue, red and green energy respectively-it was their "Release Forms".

"What? They achieved their forms too? This looks bad, we better be on our guard." Blossom stated while examining the RRB power.

Brick was glowing red with fiery embers emitting off of his legs and hands. Butch was glowing dark green and had green orbs flowing around him. Boomer was glowing dark blue and had small droplets of water flowing around him in a mist.

The boys flash stepped towards the girls and hit them head on with a powerful super punch to the face. The girls flew up and the RRB in unison super kicked them back towards the ground.

"Darn it." Buttercup mumbled as she struggled to recover mid air. The girls crashed into the ground hard and quickly climbed out only to see the RRB dashing back towards them.

"It's time!" Blossom commanded. "Right!" The other two agreed as their auras radiated. The girls quickly dodged the Boy's next attack and countered with their own super punches which sent the Boys flying. Thunder in the distance echoed across the city as the girls powered up and glowed in their signature colors, Pink, Blue and Purple.

"Yes, Yes! Finally! I've heard so much about your powers, now we can get this party started!" Brick yelled as the girls transformed.

The PPG and the RRB clashed together in a final attempt to defeat the other.

Buttercup gripped the hilt of her saber but it wouldn't appear. "What's going on? Why can't I use my saber?" Just then Butch caught her by surprise and super punched her in the gut then he gave her a swift kick to the face. Buttercup was sent flying towards a burning building but she recovered just as she hit it, using her momentum she rush back towards him.

Bubbles was giving it everything she had just to avoid Boomers attacks, just then Boomer appeared behind her and kicked her in the back, she tumbled down in a spiral headed for the street. Boomer dashed after her again and formed a Dark Blue ball of energy in his hand, he then caught up to her and fired point blank in her chest. A powerful explosion filled the air as Bubbles crashed down to earth with a smoke trail following.

She recovered just as she hit the ground and while still tumbling did a series of flips on the street to regained her footing, she landed just in time to avoid Boomers surprise kick to the street and delivered a swift super punch to his face.

Blossom was dodging Brick's attacks as well as she could, she noticed that his power was mostly fire based and thought that she had a elemental disadvantage. Brick threw a barrage of blazing Punches and kicks at her and while she was able to dodge them all with a last surprise kick he smacked her in the face and sent her soaring. She quickly recovered and powered up a frozen ball of ice energy in her palm as they rushed after each other. The two collided and Brick was sent flying in a frosty mist as his body was covered in snow; Blossom hovered in the air with ice crystals floating around her while she watched him crash.

Buttercup was attacking Butch without mercy and he was unable to defend himself against her powerful attacks. Buttercup sent Butch flying towards a building and just before she could dash after him Brick crashed into her.

"What the, Where'd you come from?" Buttercup questioned while clenching her fist at him.

"You were in my way!" Brick argued while flipping her the bird.

"You want to fight about it?" Buttercup yelled.

"I'll cream you loser!" Brick replied while fire formed around his hands.

They both jumped back a bit and stared each other down. They both then dashed towards one another with a fierce battle cry and clashed with shock waves echoing over the city.

After switching targets Blossom rushed back towards Butch as he countered her attack, he then shot a pillar of earth from the ground below striking her but she quickly bounced back towards him again. Butch unleashed a barrage of trees from the ground but she quickly avoided them and soared to his location. Just before Blossom could tackle him he raised a giant stone wall to protect himself. Blossom spun like a top and pierced threw the wall while gathering blue energy in her hand, she quickly pointed it at Butch's chest and fired at point blank. The explosion sent Butch flying towards a burning car and upon impact caused it to explode as well, sending shrapnel and a badly injured Butch flying towards a ruined building.

Blossom reverted back to conserve energy. "One down-now where are Bubbles and Buttercup at?" Just then Blossom heard an explosion nearby, she turned and saw Buttercup falling to the ground below in her normal green form. "Buttercup!" Blossom flew towards her just to be stopped by a giant wall of earth to the face. "This fight is not over yet…" Butch yelled while holding his still bleeding head.

Buttercup slowly got out of her crater and saw Brick forming a fiery red ball of energy again. "Shoot-I can't find an opening on him." She looked down and saw her saber next to her, it was only the hilt still. "Why can't I use it?" Brick fired as Buttercup quickly grabbed her saber and dodged rolled out of the way. Brick dashed towards her at full speed. "Concentrate, focus all my power into the saber, Come on-Come on!"

Buttercup gasped as she noticed him getting too close. He crashed into her and with a super punch to the stomach sent her flying back, Buttercup regained her balance and started sliding mid air to slow herself down and noticed Brick spinning in circles above her, she quickly moved her arm up to guard against Bricks kick. He struck down and sent Buttercup flying again. She crashed into a nearby building and slowly climbed out of the ruble. Buttercup started breathing heavily in exhaustion. "Darn it..."

"Ha! Looks like you're done for! Their's no way you can beat me!" Brick boasted.

"Shut up-I won't lose to you!" Buttercup stated while trying to catch her breath.

"Ha-what can you do? You're already out of breath, you're not transformed anymore and that stick thing you're carrying doesn't even work! It's over for you Buttercup! I'll end you here!" Brick charged at her at full speed. Buttercup in desperation moved into attack position to guard against Bricks charge.

"No! I won't lose! I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!" Buttercup yelled as her dark purple aura flared violently and dark ribbons of energy started circling her body; the area around them got incredibly dense with her power as she transformed back into her Valor Form.

"You say that I'm weak, that I'm finished? I not even warmed up yet!" Buttercup gripped onto the hilt of her saber tightly and a dark green blade sprung to life. It was radiating her power and was shaped like a cross between a katana and a saber. "This-This is it!" Buttercup looked at Brick with killer determination and a new resolve.

As lightning strikes down in the distance and rain slowly starts to fall Bubbles hovers over the nearly destroyed city in her normal form and watches her target slowly get back up from a pile of ruble.

"He just won't quit, Just being transformed for a minute is already pushing it-I don't know how much longer I can fight like this."

Boomer slowly flew back up to meet her. "I won't give up... HIM would never forgive us if we did." "But why listen to what HIM says? You boys used to just do whatever you wanted and you didn't care what anyone told you. So why now? Why do you follow HIM's orders?"

"You don't get it. I wouldn't expect you to. It's a matter of pride, and personal reasons why we do what we do. It's none of your concern." "But it is! You're after us and that does concern me, what has HIM done too you?"

"Enough! I need to finish this fight now, get ready cause I'm not going to go hold back!" Boomer charged at Bubbles at full speed and powered up blue balls of energy. Bubbles watched him get closer until the last second then she side stepped out of the way and kneed him hard in the gut.

Boomer yelped in pain as his energy left him and he slipped into a deep sleep while he tumbled towards the ground. Bubbles grabbed him from his free fall and slowly set him down on the sidewalk, she looked on at him with pity. The rain is starting to pour-an explosion off in the distance sends a dark green streak hurdling down towards the ground.

Blossom was panting in exhaustion high in the sky-she stared down at Butch who just wouldn't quit. Butch slowly got back on his feet; he's critically wounded and can barley stand up straight. With his feet wobbly and vision blurry he forced himself back towards Blossom.

"I won't-back down...to you." Butch struggled to say. "Why are you so determined to keep fighting? If we keep this up then somebody's going to get killed, and I'm not lying when I say this!" "It's none of your business, I'm not obligated to tell you anything. But if you must know then talk to HIM about it. He's the one who thought of that plan."

"What Plan?"

"The plan to take over the world!"

"What?!"

"Uh… I've said too much, but I'll finish you now and get on with business." Butch went after Blossom once more but fell short of reaching her as he tumbled down to the street below.

An immense amount of power exploded and sent a dark red and purple streak flying. Both Buttercup and Brick regained balance and dashed back towards each other. Buttercup yelled and swung her saber at Brick. Brick dodged her swing and kicked her in the face. Buttercup flew back and hit a building; she then dashed out and grabbed Brick by the shirt.

"Why are you so persistent on fighting us? Why? Why are you destroying everything and why are you after us?!" Buttercup demanded while shaking him.

Brick laughed and gave her an answer. "Because Lord HIM demands it!" "What? You never listen to what anyone tells you to do, did HIM do something to you guys?" "It doesn't matter, you won't be around long enough to find out-" Brick powered up a dark red ball of energy and shot it at Buttercup at point blank range. "Die Buttercup!" He screamed.

Buttercup took a direct hit and crashed into a ruined building knocking her out of her Valor Form. Buttercup slowly opened her eyes and saw rain falling down on her. "It's starting to rain hard huh." She struggled to get back up and met with Brick.

"I don't know how much longer we can go on like this, how about we pour all our energy into one attack?" Buttercup suggested. "Fine with me, it will be the last thing you do Buttercup so make it a good one!" Both of them started to power up as much as they could; Buttercup started glowing and formed dark purple ribbons of energy around her as she transformed one last time. Brick glowed dark red and had embers flowing around his body.

"Can I ask you something?" "Huh? A little late to be asking for mercy huh? Brick boasted. "No-not that. How can you stay in such an elevated state without succumbing to exhaustion as easily?" "I don't know, maybe I'm just not a little baby!" Brick replied with a grin. Buttercup a little annoyed twitched with his remark. "Fine then-"

Buttercup thought to herself. "Concentrate; imagine a black ball surrounded by white, and make that ball as dark as possible. Make the ball expand until it is ready to explode. (Buttercups energy starts to increase.) Then focus the power of the explosion into the saber."

Both Buttercup and Brick dash towards each other. "This is it Buttercup!"

"Then release the power into one attack!" Buttercup screamed as she swung her saber releasing something incredibly powerful from the blade, a single high density slash of dark green energy launched out and sliced threw Brick's side nearly cutting him in half.

Brick shrieked in agony as the huge gash in his side shot out dark red blood; Brick's body fell limp as he hurdled down and crashed in the middle of a ruined park, his warm blood mixing with the fresh rain falling from the sky.

Butch heard Brick's shriek and turned to see him on the floor soaked in blood. "Wha-what? Brick?! Brick!" Butch screamed as he dashed over to see his brother bleeding out on the floor.

Boomer slowly opened his eyes and saw Bubbles with wide eyes next to him looking at something off in the distance. "Where am I…Why are you-?!" Boomer got up and saw what Bubbles was looking at. "Huh? Bri-Brick?! Brick!" Boomer hastily rushed over to his brother's side to try and save him but his efforts were in vain.

The two brothers start to tear up and mourn over the loss of their brother. "Brick! Brick! No-no don't die! We still have so much to do! No-no-no-nooooo!" Butch cried out while holding Bricks head. Boomer tried to hold in his tears and be strong for his brother. "He's gone, there's nothing we can do."

The boys stayed by their brother's side in the pouring rain while Blossom and Bubbles stared at them in a state of shock. Buttercup was horrified. "N-no, what have I done? T-this is all my fault, I'm to blame for this. Why…Why? Why? Why!?" Buttercup cried out while breaking into tears.

She turned around and flew back home to hide herself from what had just happened. Blossom noticed Buttercup leave and she called Bubbles to go after her. Bubbles nodded in response and gave chase.

Blossom examined the battle field and sighed in disappointment. "Why did it have to come to this?"

The rain soaked remnants of a once great city remains as Blossom flies off to find her sister, in what is to be a tragic moment in Buttercup's life. As Buttercup flies home in tears she thinks back of when she lost control of her powers and of that shadowy figure she saw in her dream.

"Ow-my eye hurts." Buttercup cried as she covered her left eye which was slowly turning black.

To be continued


	5. Demonic Virus

PPG Bleached: Fade to Black

Chapter V

Demonic Virus

...

Buttercup flew through her window and crashed into Bubble's stuffed animal collection, sending plush toys flying everywhere. Buttercup was sobbing on her stuffed alligator when her sisters who were very worried arrived.

"Buttercup, are you ok?" Blossom asked while moving some toys out of the way. "Yeah are you ok?" Bubbles added.

Buttercup just hid herself away in the pile and cried her eyes out, the Professor heard the commotion and came bursting through the door. "Girls, what's the matter, are you ok?"

"It's Buttercup." Blossom said with teary eyes. "Something terrible happened Professor." Bubbles cried out.

"What happened in Townsville? I was watching the news and saw you fighting the RRB but the signal was quickly lost, what happened out there?"

Blossom tried getting the words out. "Sh-she…she-" "I killed Brick!" Buttercup cried out as she hid her face deeper into her alligator.

The Professor gasped in shock. "What did you-!? You killed Brick!? Wh-when? How!?" The Professor stuttered as he struggled to grasp the situation.

Buttercup told him what happened while still hiding her face.

"So, he was killed after you released a strange slash of energy at him?" The Professor summarized. Buttercup, still holding onto the stuffed alligator nodded her head. "Well-everything will be okay, it wasn't your fault..." Professor said trying to comfort his daughter. Buttercup quickly got up and cried out. "Yes it was! If I hadn't used that stupid sword you gave me then Brick would still be here!"

Everyone gasps in horror. "Oh my God!" The Professor screamed while taking a step back. "What's the matter?" Buttercup questioned looking around nervously. "Your eye! What's that black thing on your eye!?" Blossom quickly pointed out.

"What black thing?" Buttercup rushed to a mirror gasping in horror as she witnessed the insidious looking black spot covering part of her left eye. "Wh-what is that!? What's on my eye!?" Buttercup panicked.

The Professor and the girls swiftly ran down the stairs into the lab, once there the Professor set up an eye exam table to study Buttercups abnormality. "Buttercup-get on the chair and let me take a look at it!" The Professor demanded as he activated his equipment. Buttercup jumped up on the chair and looked into the eye exam machine.

The Professor zoomed in and studied her eye. "Hmm...interesting, this black thing seems to be apart of your eye, and what's weirder is that it's actually growing rather slowly. It's only infecting the white part of your eye but I don't think it'll spread too far." "Is their anything we can do to help her?" Blossom asked. "I don't know, I'm not sure if this has to do with her demon power or if it's some weird new disease."

"What, demon powers!" Buttercup questioned extremely nervously.

"Oh, I haven't told you yet, well I guess now is as good as any to tell you girls what I found out."

The Professor stated as he took a seat on his rolling chair and brought out his pipe.

"You see, that vile of energy that Brick shot at Buttercup was made to what I assume based on what you three told me to transform her into a demon like creature or monster. Somehow Buttercup was able to negate that but the demonic energy was able to infect her powers somehow causing her to turn dark purple; kinda like a virus. After the incident when she lost control and based on your descriptions this is the only conclusion I can theoretically come to. These are kinda like symptoms of a disease if you will."

"But what does that mean Professor?! What about my eye?!" Buttercup desperately pleaded.

"I'm not exactly sure what to make of it, I don't exactly deal with the supernatural..." The Professor paused for a moment as he thought about all the supernatural things he dealt with in the past. "...But just take it easy for a while-OK. I'll look into it and I'll tell you what I find." The Professor answered with a reassuring smile.

"But-What about what happened in Townsville? I mean, I-I just killed Brick! How can things be the same after that?" Buttercup cried. "It's OK, like I said before; it's not your fault." The Professor quickly answered. "But-" "That's enough, I don't want you to worry about this anymore, understand?" The Professor quickly added with a stern tone. "Ok" Buttercup replied gloomily.

The girls went back upstairs to rest and get something to eat while the Professor feverishly jotted down notes; he sighed in dissatisfaction and slight depression as he leaned back in his rolling chair thinking of everything that has happened up till now. Buttercup with her green blanket wrapped around her body sat by herself in the living room watching TV.

"Brick, why did you want to fight me so much? If we hadn't fought like we did then you would still be alive. Maybe if I just give up on fighting-then everything would be better. If I were to just...give up." Buttercup slowly drifted off into a deep slumber hoping to escape her nightmare.

Buttercup's dream however was very unusual; she saw herself in the middle of an open field with the wind sweeping through the brown grass and the clouds were moving peacefully across the evening sky. It was very peaceful. Buttercup looked over to her left and saw a lone tree standing in the open field; she walked through the long wavy grass towards the tree and noticed a very young girl in black sitting by herself on a long protruding branch.

Buttercup walked closer to the stoic figure and asked. "Who are you?" The girl however didn't reply back. "Where am I?" She asked again with no luck. The girl just sat there quietly watching the sunset. Buttercup a little irritated rudely asked her again. "Hey! What gives, why are you ignoring me?" Buttercup walked around the tree to confront the girl but when she passed a thick branch she was gone. "What the-?" Buttercup confused about what just happened searched frantically for her. Suddenly everything around her was dead; the tree, the grass, everything was barren. Even the sky turned a blood red.

"Where am I? What happened to everything?" Buttercup frantically searched her surroundings for anybody or anything. Suddenly from the corner of her eye she noticed a shadowy figure standing in the barren field, it was the same image as last time.

Buttercups eye's grew wide with fear, the shadowy figure smirked and from the distance she heard it say. "You're so weak!" in a twisted gargled way. Darkness quickly surrounded Buttercups body and she was suffocating from its toxic miasma. "Wha-I…Can't-Move...Can't…Breath…Someone-Help Me!"

The same twisted voice said again "Crying for help? You'll never escape me precious! You're mine!" Buttercup in a panic thrusted violently to escape the darkness but was quickly swallowed. "No-I Can't...I won't..." Then a mysterious voice's plead echoed through the darkness. "Don't die Buttercup!" She slowly sank into the abyss and with her final words she uttered. "Don't die?"

She was tossed from the darkness and quickly woke up, her body drenched in sweat she was short of breath and frantically tried figuring out what just happened. She then examined the area around her.

"I'm-okay, I'm home." With a sigh of relief she laid back down and started watching TV again, suddenly she heard the same twisted voice from her dream utter a terrifying prophecy.

"Buttercup, I am always watching you. You killed Brick and you liked it didn't you? It felt good to destroy all who oppose you right? But you're far too weak and naive to fully realize your true power. You're weak, you're useless, and you can easily get us both killed! I'm not waiting anymore, I'm coming for you Buttercup, and every time you use our powers I get a little closer, wait for me Buttercup!"

Buttercup in a terrified panic leaped from the couch but she was alone in the darkness. She checked the time and saw it was around 4 PM and her sisters where having a snack in the kitchen.

Buttercup went up to her room and laid on her bed, thinking about what had just happened gave her goose bumps so she tried reading a book.

Blossom and Bubbles were watching TV while the Professor, overworked and exhausted was fast asleep on his desk. His notes scattered across his desk and the walls were all about Buttercup's supposed demonic virus, they were a mad man's attempt to save his daughter from the evil that haunted her. A little more than an hour had passed when the Hotline rang,"Buzz, Buzz, Buzz!"

Blossom answered the phone. "Yes Mayor!" "Blossom, there's trouble! There's a giant monster attacking the city! Please help us!" The mayor pleaded. "All right Mayor, were on our way! Bubbles we're needed in Townsville, Let's go! "But wait, what about Buttercup?" Bubbles asked concerned about her sister's condition. "We don't have time, Buttercup can come if she feels like it, but we need to go now!" "OK."She sadly replied.

As Blossom and Bubbles were about to fly out the door, Buttercup came running down stairs. "Wait!" "What's wrong?" Blossom questioned in a hurry. "I….I want to go with you." Buttercup said while summing the courage to stay true to her word. "Alright then-let's go!" Blossom said with a smile knowing that Buttercup was returning to her old self again.

The girls flew to Townsville and found the giant monster; it was a towering slender black colored monster, it had a pointed nose and a white mask like face with vacant dead eyes.

"What is that thing?" Bubbles asked with a confused look. Before anyone could answer however, the monster opened its mouth wide and roared a deafening scream shattering windows everywhere and rocking the city below.

"All right let's finish this fight as quickly as possible." Blossom commanded. The girls all flew in different directions and started attacking the monster, but their attacks were showing little results. "What's with this monster, none of our attacks are doing any damage." Blossom stated.

Then she heard Bubbles scream, the monster swung down and grabbed her. It let out another roar as it tossed her into a building with horrific force, it then opened its mouth and formed a densely large ball of dark red energy. Bubbles slowly got up out of the ruble when she noticed the monster looking at her with the ball of energy in its mouth.

The monster fired its attack at lightning speed catching her off guard. Just in time she was saved by a swift reaction from Buttercup; she was in her valor form and an even larger portion of her eye had turned black. "Buttercup! Your eye!" Bubbles yelled in a panic. "Its ok, it's all under control." Buttercup stated while trying to act brave. The monster roared and swung it's arm down at Blossom, she quickly dodged the attack and transformed into her Black Rose form.

"It's time to end this!" Blossom exclaimed. Bubbles nodded and transformed into her star form. All three girls attacked the monster inflicting heavy damage and swiftly dodging the monsters attacks. Buttercup dashed upward and readied her super punch "This is it!" She exclaimed. But before she could finish off the monster a densely powerful dark red beam of demonic energy came from the heavens above and pierced straight through the monster's center. Buttercup yelled as she jumped out of the way of the explosion. The monster roared one final cry as it fell to the ground where it started fading away into a black mist that slowly dissipated into nothing. The ground around the girls started shaking and a large hole opened up in the middle of the street; Butch and Boomer flew out and hovered over the battlefield.

"You? Why are you two back?" Blossom yelled demanding answers as her and her sisters all reverted back to conserve some energy. Just then an evil high pitched laugh came from the hole as HIM emerged through a wall of fire.

"You girls are just full of surprises aren't you? First some upstarts wants to give me a heart attack, my boys fail to defeat you after receiving special help and now Buttercups true form is finally emerging! This week just keeps getting better and better!" HIM boasted.

"What are you doing here HIM, and what was that red light that fell from the sky?" Blossom yelled wanting nothing else to happen to this already ruined city.

"Oh, Blossom. You're so to the point. You see-the world you know is all coming to an end here shortly." HIM stated while raising his claws up in the air.

"Yeah right, we'll just stop you like every other time!" Bubbles yelled while shaking her fist.

"Oh-there's someone here I want you to meet. He fought his way all across the underworld just to see you three again. Especially you-Buttercup." Him stated with a devious smile.

A dark red figure fell from the sky and hovered over the city with HIM and the two Ruffs by his side. It was Brick. Buttercup's eyes grew wide as she was in complete shock over this sudden realization.

"Hello, Buttercup." He smirked. "And goodbye." He propelled himself at Buttercup at lightning speed and super punched her in the gut. "Gahh" She wasn't quick enough to parry and flew at breakneck speed crashing into a far off building.

As Buttercup picked herself up and out of the ruined office building she thought to herself.

"Brick's alive? But how? I thought I killed him!? How is he still alive? And how did he become so much stronger than the last time we fought? What's going on!? Why?-why does his power feel so similar to my own!?"

To be continued


	6. HIM's Challenge

PPG Bleached: Fade to Black

Chapter VI

HIM's Challenge

Brick was fighting Buttercup miles away while HIM explained the details of his plan to the two girls.

"Blossom, since you're the leader, I'll tell you what to expect. As of right now some people who you three care very much about have been kidnapped and are being held captive inside my castle."

The two puffs gasped, Blossom clenched her fist as her rage was building inside. "What have you done? who have you taken hostage HIM!?" Blossom screamed with malice. "If you wish to save them, then come to my new domain, it's located in the middle of the North pole, you can't miss it." "You're on Him, We'll save everybody then we're going to destroy your castle and defeat you!"

HIM laughed with a sinister tone. "Before you can do that, you need to defeat my minions first. They're the best of the best- they're known as My Numbers. They range from one to twelve and three of them are here with me. Number Nine- Boomer, Number Seven- Butch, and Number Three- Brick!"

"Buttercup's fighting him right now!" Blossom thought to herself. "Blossom look!" Blossom turned to see where Bubbles was pointing towards, off in the distance she heard an explosion followed by the sounds of buildings collapsing. "Buttercup looks like she might be in trouble! We need to help her!" Bubbles continued to cry out moving to an attack position.

"Wait! If you go now Buttercup will die!" HIM abruptly said. Blossom turned back to her adversaries."What do you mean HIM? "If you fight Brick now, he might not hold back and end up killing you all before it's time." Blossom enraged yelled out. "What exactly do you want from us HIM?!" "I'm glad you asked." HIM said with a large sinister grin trying to provoke Blossom further.

Buttercup lunged forward and threw a barrage of punches as fast as she could at Brick but he effortlessly blocked every single one and countered with a powerful super kick to her gut. Buttercup gagged out blood at the force of the blow as she crashed into a near by building.

"What's the matter Buttercup? I thought you were stronger than that? Why don't you try using that sword of yours or that powered up slash again, huh?" Brick yelled mocking her abilities.

"I-won't let you beat me." Buttercup climbed out of the pile of ruble and soared back after Brick, the clash of forces sent shock waves of their power echoing across the city again as they struggled in their deadlock.

"What's that on your eye Buttercup? Is your demon taking over-huh?" Brick said kind of sarcastically. "You know about them?" Buttercup questioned in confusion.

"I know everything about your powers- I'm the one who gave you this power in the first place remember? Now I'm out to get my revenge on you-for killing me the last time!"

Bricks power started to increase exponentially as the surrounding area became incredibly dense with his strength. Buttercup's eyes grew wide as fear crept up in the back of her mind. Brick broke through their deadlock and super punched her hard in the face. Buttercup hurled down towards the street crashing through a billboard slamming in the middle of a parked car destroying it on impact and digging into the street adjacent to it. Buttercup dazed struggled to get back up, she then looked up at Brick. She was physically exhausted and the black in her eye slowly spread across and covered most of her left eye.

"What's wrong Buttercup, You can't fight anymore? It's too bad I can't kill you now, HIM wants me to wait until you arrive at the North Pole. When that time comes however, I want you to fight me with your full strength! You seem to be holding back a lot and that's no fun. Next time we meet, I will kill you!"

Brick gathered demonic energy in his palm and fired a blast at her. Buttercup quickly dashed out of the way but was knocked back by the force of the explosion which left a mid sized crater.

"That was a close one!" Buttercup thought to her self as she realized that last attack might've been the end of her.

Brick suddenly appeared behind her and super kicked her into another building again. "Ha, Ha! See ya later, sucka!" Brick flew back towards his brothers while HIM finished explaining his plan to Blossom.

"So you're telling me that if we defeat you and your numbers we can save everyone?" Blossom reviewed. "Exactly!" HIM replied in a sinister low pitched tone."

Are you holding out on me? You wouldn't be telling me this if it wouldn't work in your advantage, so why? What else are you planning?" HIM smirked. "The world as you know it is nearing its end, whether you like it or not things won't be the same ever again. In preparation for something far bigger than you three, I invite you to test your luck against my Elites to save your loved ones. But you know-you'll all die. Okay, have fun Girls! Bye, Bye!"

HIM laughed in a demented way as a dimensional rift opened up behind him which made a loud ripping sound and all four villains walked inside. Brick looked back at Buttercup, beaten and wounded she was out of breath staring back at him too.

"Tck-you're pathetic." Brick continued on as the rift slowly sealed shut and vanished.

Blossom trying to contemplate HIM's plan remembered him mention kidnapping people important to them.

"Bubbles!" Blossom yelled.

"Yeah?"

"Go help Buttercup, I'm going to see who HIM meant by kidnapping people important to us!" Blossom dashed off to City Hall to find the Mayor and Miss Bellum. She gasped as she found glass on the floor and the Mayor's office ransacked. "Hello? Anybody here?"

"They're gone Blossom!"

"Who's there?"

"Over here Blossom!" Blossom turned towards a shadowy place in the room. "Princess?" "That's right. Tiss I-Princess Morebucks have kidnapped the Mayor and Ms. Bellum, and there's nothing you can do about it." Princess said while folding her arms over her chest and making a smug look on her face. "Why did you kidnap them!?" Blossom yelled as she charged towards her. "Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough." She smirked as she swiftly flew out of the window with a snooty laugh. Blossom dashed after her but was quickly puzzled at the sudden disappearance of her presence.

"How did she... Ahh, never mind I need keep moving!" Blossom said as she flew towards her school.

There was a lone car parked in the parking lot that looked oddly familiar, Blossom looked through the window of her school and gasped again. Everything was in ruins; She walked inside and looked around. There was a hole in the ceiling and the desks and tables were scattered across the room.

"Ms. Keane? Are you here?" Blossom looked around and found a note on her desk, it read

"We've got your favorite teacher, and someone else, try guessing who it is. ~Brick."

Blossom enraged ripped it up. "Who else did you kidnap, who?!" She screamed.

"Wait, that car outside wasn't Ms. Keane's so…Robin! What was she doing here? Ugghh!"

She jumped through the hole in the ceiling and quickly dashed home. "Professor, are you still home, are you okay?" Blossom hurried home and found the front door smashed in.

"Oh no!"

She quickly searched the house frantically looking for her father.

"Professor, Professor, where are you?" She found professors lab door had been blown through and the security locks destroyed.

"Professor!?"

Blossom rushed down and found the lab in ruin and electrical components sparking and smoking in disrepair.

"Oh no." Blossom fell to her knees, "I was too late."Blossom with tears in her eyes hit the floor in frustration.

"Professor!"

Blossom looked around and found the computer Professor was working on. Just then Bubbles arrived outside.

"Blossom, are you here?"

"Down here Bubbles, is Buttercup with you?"

"Yes, she's alright. Is the Professor okay? It looks like something bad happened here." Bubbles asked.

Blossom's voice cracked a bit under stress. "No, he's not here, they got him." Blossom answered as tears formed.

Bubbles gasped, "He was kidnapped? Oh no!" Bubbles cried out.

"Yeah, come down here I want to show you something." Blossom said kind of worried. Bubbles and Buttercup came down to the lab, both sisters were taking aback at the sheer destruction of the lab. "I can't believe this happened, why the Professor?" Bubbles mumbled.

"There's a light blinking on the computer." Blossom said pointing out the flashing red light. Bubbles pressed the button and the computer screen turned black then it turned to static. "Aww, did you break the computer?" Buttercup questioned.

The screen flickered and played a startling video.

The Professor was in a panic and a loud banging noise could be heard in the background with an alarm beeping inside the lab; the Professor rushed to set the camera and tell his girls what he needed to say.

"Girls, Gahh- Girls I don't want you to worry about me- I'll be fine! I knew someone would come for me sooner or later but I wasn't expecting it to be this soon." (An explosion is heard in the background, the Professor looks back and hears laughing.)

"Girls, I know you can win-I believe in you. Buttercup, your power has grown very unstable; so I upgraded your saber while you were out so it can help equalize your powers even more. I know whatever happens you three can over come them, I made a large batch of x recovery this past week so take as much as you need." (Another explosion rocked the house, pieces of the ceiling started to fall and the security locks on the lab door started breaking.)

"Girls! I kinda know what's going on with Buttercup's powers; please- you need to be strong! If you hold back on your powers it might reduce the spread of the virus temp-"

(Suddenly one last explosion sends the door flying off its hinges and a dark shadow jumps down through the smoke and rushes towards the Professor.)

"Hah! Stop, stay away! Noooo!" The Professor yelled as he was hit with a chair and stuffed inside a bag. Then a familiar green face showed up on the screen and with a grin, shut off the camera.

The girls gasp. "Mojo!" "What has he done with the Professor?" Buttercup questioned. "I know" Blossom replied. "What? What do you mean you know?" Buttercup questioned. "HIM-he said that the RRB and a few others kidnapped some people who were important to us- I guess he got everyone then." Blossom said with teary eyes.

"Who else did they kidnap?" Buttercup asked.

"Ms. Keane, The Mayor, Ms. Bellum, Robin and her family, and now the Professor. He probably kidnapped other people too, I only checked the places we go to frequently." Blossom answered.

"We have to save them!" Buttercup said in a frenzy. "Not yet, we need to prepare before setting off to Him's castle." Blossom stated. "Besides, you need to hold back on your powers to reduce the effects of your demon right?" Bubbles added. "Right, we will prepare tonight and set off in the morning." Blossom stated with new resolve.

"Fine- I just hope they don't do anything to the people they kidnapped while we rest." Buttercup said in a fit.

"I'll gather the X recover and get our things ready for tomorrow!" Bubbles exclaimed.

"OK- then I'll order something to eat what do you feel like eating?" Blossom asked.

"Pizza!" Bubbles quickly answered. "Buttercup how about you, what do you want?" Blossom asked.

"I can't think about food right now! I need to get ready for tomorrow, order whatever!" Buttercup said in a hurry.

"What's wrong with her?" Bubbles asked.

"During our fight with the RRB this morning she killed Brick and somehow he came back and wanted revenge. She then lost to him half an hour ago and now she's losing control of her inner demon. I bet she's overwhelmed with mixed emotions about her situation. We should just leave her alone for now." Blossom said.

"It sure was a long tiring day." Bubbles said with a long sigh.

"So what do you say, pizza for dinner?" Blossom asked.

"Yep!" Bubbles exclaimed.

...

Chapter 6.5

That night, while the girls slept- before heading off to HIM's Fortress; Buttercup was tossing and turning having another ominous dream. She saw herself in the same open grassy field as before; the wind was blowing hard but the clouds weren't moving.

"I'm here again? Just what is this place?" Buttercup then tried to fly but she would just fall back down. "I can't fly? What's going on here?" She looked around and found the same lone tree that she saw earlier that day. "It's that tree, maybe she's over their again." She rushed across the grassy plain hoping to see anything new, but nothing was there. "So what do I do now?"

Buttercup questioned while jumping up on the tree. She watched the sunset and thought about what her purpose was. Suddenly she heard a very faint voice calling out to her.

"Huh, did someone call me?"

Then she heard it again- it was coming from above the tree. Buttercup scrambled off the tree and looked over the top, there she saw the young girl from before floating upside down on top of the tree. Buttercup's gasped in shock; the girl looked exactly like herself. She was wearing a long black kimono type of cloak with dark green tiger stripes on the bottom of the tattered cape, and her hair was a few inches longer than her own.

The young girl called out to her again, but Buttercup could barely hear her voice. "Who is she? Why can't I hear what she has to say?" The young girl looked away her face saddened as she turned around and walked away from the tree. Buttercup called out to her. "Wait, don't go! Who are you? Where am I?" But the girl just walked away seemingly oblivious to Buttercups presents.

Just then a dark shadow came out from under the girl and formed a shadowy creature; it then started walking towards Buttercup as the young girl vanished. Buttercup's eyes grew wide with fright, she stepped back a bit sensing the danger in its aura.

"Hey, how you holding up champ?" Buttercup speechless just stood their and watched it get closer.

"Buttercup, you think you can oppress me? Keep me bottled up inside you? Ha, don't make me laugh, you could never hope to control me. I'm too strong for you and you know it, why don't you just give up?"

Buttercup finally snapping out of her shock yelled out at it. "N…No! I will never let you take control of me! You won't win; I won't give up, and I'm not going to let you come out again!" The shadowy creature looked at her and grinned. "But Buttercup why won't you let me out? After all, I am you!"

The darkness surrounding the creature slowly receded and a dark twisted version of Buttercup emerged.

"What! Y-you look just like me! But how, why?"

"I am you- and you are me- that's all there is to it." The shadowy creature explained.

"But- how could you be me?" Buttercup asked again feeling a little nervous.

"Remember back when you were hit with that demonic energy? You where supposed to turn into me, but your will kept me from taking over. But now you're weak, your resolve is gone and your no longer of any use to me- I will destroy you and devour your soul!"

The creature formed balls of demonic energy in both hands and fired them at Buttercup. Buttercup stunned was captured in the demonic sphere and her energy was rapidly being drained. Static illuminated across the orb and fired back towards her demon feeding it her life force. "Your energy, your soul, everything belongs to me! So why don't you submit!" Buttercup in a panic cried out. "I won't let you take control! You're apart of me and I accept that- but I will keep you suppressed deep inside me! I won't let you hurt anyone every again!" She cried out in a mighty battle cry as she transformed into her Valor Form breaking free from her prison.

Her anti self chuckled. "I guess you don't fully understand yet- oh well. I'll be seeing you Buttercup, very soon."

Buttercups inner demon started to fade into a black mist and slowly flew towards the young girl who was watching from afar. The darkness turned into her shadow as the girl walked towards Buttercup.

"Can you hear me?" Buttercup asked.

The young girl nodded. "Buttercup, can you hear my voice calling out to you?" "Yes! I can here you now; you sound just like me too!" "Buttercup- I am your inner self, your conscious, I am you- but we also share the same burden." Buttercup saw the girls eyes sadden again. "You remember the power that you released when you killed Brick right?" (Buttercup remembered Brick nearly getting sliced in half by that attack.)

"That power however comes from your demon, it's called Black Star. You need to be careful on how you use this power Buttercup- I know you can get through this. So please- for the sake of this world and yours I beg you. Don't die Buttercup."

Buttercup was blinded by an incredibly bright light and suddenly she awoke from her dream. Her body was covered in sweat as she checked the time and saw it was 4:30 in the morning. Buttercup looked around and saw her sisters still asleep. Bubbles was holding tightly onto her Octi and mumbling about cookies, and Blossom was just fast asleep.

Buttercup breathed a sigh of relief as she slowly got up so she wouldn't wake her sisters. She went to the bathroom to get a drink of water. She glanced in the mirror after washing her face and saw that the black in her eye had vanished.

"Looks like I might be OK."

Buttercup went back to her side of the bed and drifted back into a peaceful sleep for one last time.

To be Continued


	7. Rage Awakened

PPG Bleached: Fade to Black

Chapter VII

Rage Awakened

...

"You guys ready?" Blossom asked as they were walking out of the living room with their equipment.

"Yeah let's do it!" Buttercup boasted while buttoning up her jacket.

"Leave it to me!" Bubbles exclaimed while securing her share of X recover into a satchel.

"Alright-let's go!" Blossom commanded as they all darted out the front door.

The girls traveled to the North Pole at breakneck speed; streaks of lime green, sky blue, and pink pierced the heavens as they rushed to find HIM and put a stop to his madness. Each girl was gripping tightly to their enhancers ready to fight when Bubbles noticed the temperature rapidly drop. "It's starting to snow; we must be nearby." She thought to herself.

Over the horizon Blossom could faintly see a large fortress standing in the middle of a frozen valley. "Is that HIM's castle?"

"Blossom look!" Bubbles was pointing over towards a mountain of ice that had three immense powers radiating from atop of its summit. The girls stopped mid-air to face their first targets.

"Well, well, well-if it isn't the Powderpuff girls?" Brick yelled sarcastically. "It's Powerpuff!" Buttercup corrected. "Whatever, so you're here to stop HIM's evil plan huh?" "No duh," Blossom answered. "Well-I don't think that will happen." Butch replied. "And why not?" Blossom threatened. "Because we're going to stop you before you can even step foot in that castle!" Brick proclaimed while pointing at the large white fortress. "Wait a minute, when did you come back? I thought I killed you!?" Buttercup questioned while frowning. Brick smirked. "Let's just say I made a deal with the devil." He answered while glaring back at Buttercup with evil eyes. "Enough! Let's just get this over with!" Blossom yelled.

Buttercup pulled out her saber, Bubbles took out her wand, and Blossom squeezed the heart charm on her bracelet. Butch and Boomer both transformed into their release forms feeling confident in their power, they glanced over at Brick who gave them a head nod. Both teams stood silently measuring each other up, thinking of a strategy to outdo the other.

Suddenly Brick rushed towards Buttercup and super punched her in the gut which sent her flying far from her sisters as he flew after her. Her sisters stunned at Bricks speed cried out. "Buttercup!" They rushed over hoping to help but were quickly cut off by Butch and Boomer. "You guys again!?" Blossom yelled with frustration as her and Bubbles both Transformed into their release forms.

...

"You think you can get away with humiliating me like that!?" Brick yelled. "What are you talking about?" Buttercup replied while brandishing her saber. "After you killed me- our lord HIM made me an offer I couldn't refuse; I had to fight my way across the underworld without my super powers just to prove myself worthy of being resurrected. It-was terrifying! I've never felt such fear or weakness in my life! So now I owe him one, to repay him for saving me and giving me new powers we have to end you three losers!"

"Enough talk! I don't have time to waste here- lets fight already so I can go help my sisters!" "You sure are eager to die aren't you? Unfortunately I'll make sure your death is painful as HELL!"

Brick started powering up with an ominously evil red aura; the surrounding atmosphere around them got incredibly dense with his twisted powers. He then effortlessly transformed into a demonic looking Release Form; his aura roared with vitality as his perfected power flourished around his physical body.

"And now- to push it one step further-!" Brick continued concentrating his energy pushing past the limits of his perfect Release Form. "Lucha, rey resucitado" (Fight, resurrected king)

Brick unleashed his full strength and exploded with dark red energy; his hair darkened- grew a few inches longer and ran wild, his eyes also glowed blood red.

Buttercup in complete shock of his overwhelming power shook with fright. "Wh-what's with this new form?" She stuttered, while dropping her guard.

Brick's body glowed in resonates with his spiritual body; his aura was calm and void of energy spillage. He looked on at his target; his eyes shined brightly as he vanished. Buttercup stunned at his speed took a powerful strike to her face; she went soaring through a mountain of ice as Brick dashed after her.

He quickly formed a ball of energy in his hand and pointed it at his prey; she swiftly recovered and swung her saber at him to counter the attack. Brick degraded the ball and instantly grabbed onto the blade of her saber and started powering up another ball of energy in his other hand. She watched in horror as Brick's energy was directed at her face, she closed her eyes and braced for impact.

A huge explosion roared across the battle ground as Buttercup crashed down hard with a smoke trail into the snow below. Brick floated in the frosty sky looking down at the pile of snow, waiting impatiently for his just revenge.

"Come on! you can do better than that!" He boasted as he clenched his fist. "Or maybe I'm just too much for you now?"

Buttercup then appeared behind him in her valor form and fired a powerful dark green blast of energy at him, he took the hit and stumbled down a bit. He regained his footing and yelled. "Finally! I've been waiting for you to fight me at your full strength! Those eyes- I hate those demonic eyes!" He rushed at her ready for a beat down; Buttercup swung her saber again but Brick jumped back and fired a super fast ball of red energy which hit her dead on.

Buttercup flew back a few dozen yards before regaining her footing, she looked up and saw Brick rushing towards her. Buttercup yelled as she gathered her energy into her saber and unleashed a powerful dark green slash of energy at her target. Brick watched as the slash of dark energy got closer to him; he smirked and at the last second grabbed it with his bare hand. Buttercup in a state of shock watched as he effortlessly held back her Black Star.

"H-how is it possible?" She mumbled to herself.

Bricks eyes illuminated as he broke the slash in two; sending both halves flying passed him with ease. Buttercups body trembled with absolute fear, the very attack that killed him before was easily cut in two with his bare hands.

Brick quickly dashed behind her and attacked with all of the power he could muster up in a fury of powerful punches and kicks; knocking her out of her transformation and sending her soaring towards the icy hard snow. Brick then powered up a darkly super powerful ball of dark red energy in his palm.

"This is it for you Buttercup! I call this baby a Cero, it's my ultimate attack now DIE!" He boasted as he fired.

Buttercup just now recovering from the onslaught saw the Cero charging towards her; she was too weak to move and took a direct hit. The explosion enveloped everything around the impact zone in a deadly fireball of demonic energy leaving Buttercup burned and battered in a crater of melted snow; Brick slowly descended next to her.

"You're still alive? Well this should end it!"

Brick gathered more energy in his palm and aimed it at her face while laughing. Buttercup slowly opened her eyes as she saw Brick hovering over her body, her vision was fading in and out and she couldn't move.

"No-I can't lose. I can't lose to him! I need power-I want to save everybody- I need to win!"

Bricks movements slowed down and eventually stopped, it looked like as if time around them had stopped. "What's happening? Why is he frozen there?" She then heard a familiar voice whisper. "I thought I told you not to die." Buttercup turned her head and saw the girl who looked like her from her dream. "You wish for power? I can give you power- the power to win, but you need to do something first."

The girl opened her cloak and Buttercup's body was surrounded by an ominous darkness. She then opened her eyes and saw the windy open field that she was in prior. "Why am I here?" Buttercup turned back and saw that the young girl was gone. "Where did she go?" Just then she felt something creeping up behind her, she turned around and jumped away from the creature. The shadow on the ground slowly grew and turned into a dark figure; It was her demon.

"Back so soon?" "Where's the girl?" Buttercup yelled. "Me." "What do you mean? Where is she?" "Just as I said-I'm the girl." It replied with a grin. "No you're not- you're my demon. Stop wasting my time and tell me where my inner self is!" Buttercup was getting irritated. "You just don't seem to understand huh? I am your inner self- I am that girl and I am you!" Buttercup gasped in shock.

"Remember when I turned into a shadow and went back to the girl? That's because her and I are the same, ever since I became a part of you we've been two sides to the same coin. Right now I'm the source of all your power, but you're too weak as a vessel- I've out grown you and I'm taking you down!"

Buttercup's demon formed a dark purple saber in its hand and dashed towards her. Buttercup clenched her fist and realized that she still had her own saber. She released its power and swiftly parried the attack. Buttercup stared her demon down in their deadlock ready to finally put an end to this nightmare.

...

Buttercup and her anti-self continued fighting inside of her inner world; while they were fighting Buttercups body in the real world started to move on its own. Brick in a stunned state watched as it gathered dark purple ribbons of energy around her body and pulsated with unrest.

"What the hell?"

Brick jumped back and canceled his Cero, Buttercups body gradually got up and started breathing really heavily. Her body was slowly transforming into a dark creature; the air suddenly became incredible dense and she was radiating evil energy.

"She kinda looks like one of those demons I fought in the underworld! What's going on here!?" Brick feeling enthralled with the new Buttercup laughed with envious delight. "You really surprised me with this transformation! However that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to destroy you!"

Brick crashed into her and started rapidly punching her face. She suddenly warped behind Brick catching him by surprise, he turned around and blocked her attack but was sent crashing down towards the snow. Brick enraged rushed back to unleashed his fury but before he could get close enough she warped behind him and grabbed his long hair. She pulled him back and swung her saber at him, Brick completely caught off guard couldn't defend himself from the swing and took a deep slash to the side of his right leg. "Gaaaah!" Brick yelped as he quickly flew away in order to get some distance from her.

Blood gushed from his deep wound as he started breathing heavily. "Damn it! What happened just now? She really got me this time. Looks like I have to give it my all."

Brick put pressure on his wound and slowly started healing it, but before he could do any more Buttercup warped behind him again and swung her saber, Brick dodged out of the way and fired an incomplete Cero at her again. Buttercup swiftly swung her saber and unleashed a powerful dark purple Black star destroying the Cero. Brick then dashed towards her again but his wound was keeping him from going at his full speed.

Buttercup swung her saber in a fury of strikes at Brick who blocked everyone until she fired another Black Star at him. Brick grabbed onto the slash but its immense power pushed him back until he had to either bail out or die; as he jumped out of the way Buttercup warped behind him and swung again. Brick tried blocking but the force the impact sent him flying into a giant mountain of ice.

He crash landed at full force and glanced back up at Buttercup, she pointed her hand at him and powered up a ball of dark purple energy and fired it at him. Brick quickly dashed out of the way in order to avoid it. The explosion sent a shock wave across the battlefield as Brick with his wounded leg lost his balance and tumbled down onto the snow; still in shock at the sheer power of this new Buttercup he didn't realize that she had warped behind him again.

Her saber danced as she positioned it up over his head. Brick felt her presence and looked back just as Buttercup's saber glowed dark purple ready to fire another Black Star; his eyes grew wide as she swung down at full force.

...

"Did you feel that?" Bubbles asked as she prepared her X-Recovery.

"Yeah- that crazy power...Buttercup... I hope she's alright." Blossom replied as she scanned the horizon.

"Blossom."

"What is it?"

"Do you think everything will be the same after this? Do you think that Buttercup will ever be cured of this?"

"What are you saying? Of course she will! Everything will be fine!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... Anyway these two seem to be down for the count- so let's go lend Buttercup a hand!"

"Right!"

Blossom and Bubbles both drank their X-Recover and dashed off leaving their enemies beaten and unconscious in the snow.

...

Brick slowly opened his eyes. "Wh- what just happened? Why is she like this? I've fought so many monsters but none of them were as strong as her. Why…Why is she so strong?" Buttercup suddenly slammed down hard on Bricks gut. "Guuaaaaaaaa!" Brick yelped in pain as he coughed up blood. She then form a dark purple orb in her palm. "It seems we switched roles- I won't give up so easily though." Buttercup smirked as she fired a barrage of energy blast at his battered body. Brick screamed as he coughed out more blood.

He was barely conscious when he noticed her pulling out her saber and aiming it at his heart. "So-you plan on killing me huh? You fool... do you think It'll be that easy? I'll send us both straight to HELL!"

Brick poured all his remaining energy into a Cero and was prepared to blow himself up when suddenly Buttercups demented body started twitching and screaming at the top of its lungs. It covered its face with it hands and slowly started glowing white- her body was pulsating with spiritual power until it exploded outward and all the darkness left her body.

Brick confused at what just happened receded his Cero and stood on his shaky feet. Buttercup stood tall with a dark green saber in her hand and her New Valor Form radiating with a dark green aura; her eyes and body were no longer purple but a darker shade of green. This was her true Valor form.

"I'm sorry-but I can't afford to waste any more time here." Buttercup proclaimed while brandishing her enhanced saber. "What's this? You turned back to normal? You're just chock full of surprises huh?" Brick powered up every last bit of strength he had left and charged after her.

"I'm sorry but-this fight is already over for you Brick." She put one hand over her face and gripped tightly on her saber with the other; she then formed dark purple ribbons of energy around her body and her aura flared violently with demonic power. Her eyes, aura, and saber emitted an ominously powerful dark purple glow.

"I can only show you this for a short amount of time so don't blink." Buttercup picked up her saber and quickly dashed past Brick slashing him through his side as she passed. "Guahh- what?! I lost?! Damn it!"

Buttercup slowly released her power and reverted back to her dark green Valor Form just as Brick shot out blood from his side and fell to the ground; his body descended from its spiritual state and reverted back to normal.

Brick turned his head and stared at Buttercup with absolute hatred. "I'm not done yet, get-back here!" "Stop-you've already lost, if you continue you will die." "I…will kill you...Buttercup-" Brick prophesied just before passing out from blood loss. "I'm sorry Brick- I wish I could have helped you, but I couldn't let you drag this fight on any longer."Buttercup stated as she took a deep breath and reverted back to normal.

Just then Blossom and Bubbles arrived to see the aftermath of the battle. "Buttercup are you okay?" They both gasped in horror as they saw Bricks body covered in blood. "Buttercup did you-?" Blossom questioned in a state of shock. "No. He's still alive. Bubbles you should heal him a bit, just enough so he doesn't die. Ok." "R-right!" Bubbles flew over to Bricks side and started healing him.

"Buttercup- what happened here?" Blossom asked with a concerned tone. "Nothing important- I'll tell you about it when this is all over." Buttercup answered with a smile.

"Ok- but take this." Blossom handed Buttercup a vial of X recovery. "Oh-thanks!" Buttercup said as she quickly drank it recovering some energy.

A few minutes passed when Bubbles finished healing Brick.

"It's not enough to recover him, but at least the bleeding stopped and he's stable- so I guess it's all right leaving him here. It sure is cold though." Bubbles said as she started shivering.

"All right let's keep going girls." Blossom said as they continued on towards HIM's castle.

To be continued


	8. Castle Oblivion

PPG Bleached: Fade to Black

Chapter VIII

Castle Oblivion

The girls were flying swiftly to HIM's castle paying extra attention to the layout of the terrain and watching out for any surprises hidden in the snow. The fortress itself was enormous; it has numerous windowless towers protruding from every corner, a large domed roof with a giant painting of Lord HIM's crest centered on the stoned slab, and giant pillars of ice crystals shooting up from the base of the gray scaled castle.

"Are we there yet?" Bubbles complained. "Almost-I never expected Him to have taken over the entire North Pole." Blossom said taking in the sheer magnitude of HIM's magnificent fortress. "What about Santa Claus, and the elves, and all the presents?!" Bubbles cried out. "I'm not sure, but we'll find out if everyone's O.K once we take HIM down!" Blossom stated.

While the girls were distracted debated the whereabouts of all their loved ones they didn't realize that they were being pursued. The fresh snow beneath them was moving and soon shot up with a giant wall of ice, the girls flinched. "Whoa!" They all yelled as they jumped back with snow flying everywhere. A giant fur covered snow monster emerged from the debris and towered over our heroes.

"I am the guardian of this castle, no one without proper authority from Lord HIM may enter." The monster stated while cracking its knuckles. "Like we need an invitation from that freak- now move it or lose it!" Buttercup intimidated while brandishing her saber. "Foolish answer- for your incompetence I shall crush you!" The monsters body completely froze over and turned into a giant tower of ice. "With my crushing ice body, I will eliminate you with one mighty attack."

The towering giant leaped forward trying to smash the girls with his sheer size; they all dashed away in different directions and closely watched his movements. The Monster pointed its giant frozen arm at Blossom and fired a barrage of ice needles at her; taking note she swiftly hit every single one bouncing them away from her and back at the monster. The monster in response opened its mouth wide and released his gale force ice breath sending the needles back towards the girls.

Blossom tried blocking but her body quickly started freezing over turning to ice. "Blossom!" Bubbles cried out as she launched a large fire ball at the monster while Buttercup destroyed the hail fire of ice crystals with her fists.

"Grrrrraaaaah!" The Monster grunted as the fire ball blew up in its face inflicting massive damage and blowing off some of the armored ice that surrounded its body.

"I knew it- Bubbles his weakness is fire! Give it all you've got with fire based attacks. Blossom commanded as she broke the ice crystals off of her body.

"Got it!" Bubbles rapidly launched a hail-fire of fire balls at the armored monster peppering it with mid-sized explosions upon impact blowing off chunks of its armor in the process.

The monster in desperation rapidly jumped back into the snow and tunneled underneath Blossom just as she freed herself from her icy prison; feeling the snow tremble Blossom jumped out of the way but the monster swiftly reached out and grabbed her. Blossom yelped in pain as the monster squeezed tightly; just then Bubbles launched another fire ball blowing off the armor on the monster's arm stunning him long enough for Buttercup to cut it off with her saber freeing Blossom from his grasp.

"You OK?" Buttercup asked while defending with her saber. "Yeah, thanks for saving me." Blossom responded trying to catch her breath. "Let's finish this!" Buttercup commanded. Blossom and Bubbles both fired another barrage of fire balls blowing off the rest of the monster's armor; Buttercup then jumped from behind and fired a powerful dark green Black Star blowing off its head. "Impossible!" The monster cried as its body fell to the snow in defeat. "Alright- let's keep going!" Buttercup said as she put away her saber. Her sisters agreed feeling sorry for the monster and showing some concern for their sisters seemingly uncaring persona.

...

"Finally! We made it to HIM's castle!" Bubbles exclaimed. "Yeah but- where's the door? We literally just searched the entire perimeter twice now!" Blossom said in confusion. "Oh yeah- where is it I wonder?" Bubbles replied with a sarcastic undertone.

Buttercup suddenly flared her aura violently around her body. "We came all this way, looked all over for a door- just to come to a dead end! I DON'T THINK SO!" Buttercup sprang her saber to life and launched a Black Star at the wall blowing a huge hole leading inside. Her sisters quickly covered their face's in response to the explosion and debris. "Well would you look at that! A door suddenly opened up for us! Well I guess we should go inside now! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Buttercup excitedly yelled as she skipped her way through the debris and into HIM's castle.

Blossom just looked on at her dumbfounded. "Did that really just happen?" She asked. "Yep- she's lost it." Bubbles answered. "Well, I guess it's better than just smashing through the roof... I guess." She added.

The girls made their way through the opening when Bubbles noticed how lavish the inside of HIM's castle was. "Wow this place is huge- the attention to detail, the paintings of HIM, and other weird things! Everything is soooo- amazing!" Bubbles exclaimed with sparkles in her eyes as she made a point to talk about everything down the large hallway. "Get a hold of yourself!" Blossom cried as she was shaking Bubbles. "That's right- we're at a cross roads." Buttercup pointed out. "There's four separate paths including the one we just came from. We need to decide which corridor we're going to take, although- it might be better if we split up from here on to cover more ground." She continued.

"I'm OK with going on my own." Buttercup reassured. "I should be alright too- so I guess I'm fine with separating from here." Bubbles said showing some heart. "Are you two sure about this? If we split up- we might not be able to help each other if one of us gets in some trouble or goes down." Blossom stated trying to remind them of the current situation. "Yeah don't worry, we'll be fine." Bubbles replied with a smile.

"Alright then- here's the plan." Blossom brought her sisters in close. "Quickly defeat any opposition and find where they're hiding the prisoners; once one of us locates them send a signal to the rest of us by using the hyper-sonic scream. Then, once we extract the prisoners to safety we can look for HIM and destroy this castle." Bubbles and Buttercup both nodded their heads. "To survive a while longer with only 5 vials of X-Recovery between us, we should only transform in a dire emergency and only in short burst to conserve energy. Also- in the event one of us is defeated... use whatever method you can to get in contact with us..." Both Buttercup and Bubbles with wide eyes nervously agreed. "Good- now let's get going!" Blossom commanded. The girls chose their own paths and dashed down the long corridor; they pressed on mentally preparing for the battles ahead.

...

Blossom continued down her path when she heard a really annoying snooty laugh, "Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Looks like you finally made it- Blossom. I was getting really board waiting for you!" Blossom looked back and saw someone on a ledge near the Ceiling wearing gold and black plated armor and a large shinny golden tiara.

"Princess!" Blossom yelled. "That's right- 'Tiss I, Princess here to kick your butt and take over the world! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha! Do you like my new super powers? I bet your sooooo jealous that I have this beautiful outfit and ultra-cool superpowers huh?" "Not in the least." Blossom replied to her bantering getting into an attack position. "Ha, you're so jealous it's pathetic- I'll mop the floor with you and be on my way to Lunch!"

Princess's boots and back plate unveiled rockets as she quickly rushed towards Blossom as fast as the rockets would allow preparing to attack. Blossom glared at her target, cracking a smile she said. "you're so slow." She swiftly ducked out of the way and super punched Princess in the gut. Princess yelped in pain as she flew up and crashed into the ceiling with the rockets still roaring and digging her deeper into the ceiling. "You really think that you're on the same level as me? Don't make me laugh- I'm a lot stronger than those times we fought each other in Townsville Princess!"

Blossom charged at Princess as she fell from the ceiling landing a super kick straight onto her face. She soared back and smashed into the wall. "Stay down and out of my way!" Blossom threatened as she continued down the long corridor. Princess slowly got out of the pile of rubble. "Is that all you've got...? In case you didn't know- I am one of Lord HIM's super powerful warriors!" Princess jumped out of the hole in the wall and started powering up with the gem on her gold tiara resonating with evil energy. Blossom sensing the danger turned and faced her target once more. "What's that thing shinning on Princess's tiara? Is that were she's getting this power from?" But before Blossom could evaluate the situation any further Princess rocketed towards her ready to attack again.

Blossom side stepped out of the way as Princess soared past her and swiftly circled back around. "This feeling- it feels similar to Buttercup's and Brick's evil energy, but at the same time it's different. It's like it's incomplete. I can't really explain it but I need to stop her at once." Blossom side stepped out of the way again as Princess swooped by trying to land a hit; Blossom tuned around and swiftly dashed after Princess trying to find a way to stop her rampage.

Bubbles was speeding down the long passageway when she found a giant steel plated door with a large capital M centered on its metallic finish. "What's in here?" Bubbles cautiously opened the door and found a sinister looking laboratory within its walls. "Wow- look at all of this lab equipment." Bubbles said as she walked in to explore.

Just then the door automatically sealed shut trapping Bubbles inside. She then heard an ominous laugh coming from all around her. "That voice- Mojo!" "Welcome Bubbles- I've been expecting you for quite some time now. However, I was hoping to get one of your other sisters but you'll do just fine!" "Show yourself Mojo!" Bubbles commanded. "Oh- I'm sorry, did I make the widdle baby mad?" Mojo laughed as his body materialized a few meters in front of her. Mojo stretched his arms out wide; striking a villainous pose as he brandished a large number 12 that was marked on his brain cover. His body then started radiating evil energy around him in resonates with his glowing dome.

"Number 12? You're one of HIM's Numbers?!" Bubbles yelled in disbelief. "Yes, I have obtained great knowledge and power thanks to our Lord Him! He has freed me and allowed me to achieve what I most desired in life!" "But Mojo- I don't understand you've never wanted to become a slave to someone, you've always wanted to rule the world by yourself so why start now? Why HIM?" Mojo laughed hysterically. "Because Lord HIM demands it!" Bubbles gasped in shock. "Mojo-what has HIM done to you?"

"Enough talk! I want to see your powers for myself; my brilliant mind craves knowledge and will dissect you to find out more! For I am bad, I am evil- I am Mojo Jojo!" Mojo's evil aura flared violently as his cape flapped around in an unorganized fashion. "Now, come here Powerpuff girl- if you're good, I might limit my experiments on you to only twice a day until you're nothing more than a pile of mush." Mojo continued with a devious smile.

"HIM- you're responsible for this; you're responsible for brainwashing Mojo and the RRB, kidnapping all of our friends, family, and infecting Buttercup with this evil power. We'll make him pay for everything he's done!" Bubbles mumbled to herself while clenching her fist. "OK Mojo- I'll beat you back to your senses then I'll make sure to make HIM suffer!" She threatened with fire in her eyes as her and Mojo dashed after each other.

Buttercup was running down the long corridor when she felt various fluctuations of energy pass through her. "What was that? It felt like Blossom and Bubbles! I hope they're alright-." She said as she came to a wide-open blank room at the end of the hallway; it was terribly bright inside however, there wasn't any light panels inside the room. "What the heck? Why is it so bright in here?" Buttercup questioned while squinting and covering her eyes with her arm.

"It's to keep the darkness out." A strange monotone voice answered. Buttercup at full alert spun around and grabbed her saber as it sprang to life looking for the location of the voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!" A strange person materialized into the room across from her; he wore a bloodied straight jacket with long ragged black hair flowing out from his blank gray mask.

"Who- are you?" Buttercup questioned with a slight nervous undertone. "I'm not sure what exactly I am anymore- I remember that I used to be human... maybe?" The stoic creature brandished razor-sharp claws from its mangled fingers as it swayed its twisted body from side to side. "Did HIM do something to you?" Buttercup questioned while picking up her guard. The twisted creature started giggling. "Lord HIM- what should I do? Hehehe- You want me to kill this child?" His body started to twitch in an inhuman manner. "If that is your wish my Lord!" The monster's body radiated evil energy as his straight jacket unwound exposing his scarred mangled body and a faded Number 8 tattooed on his chest.

"Eight? You're Number 8?!" The monster limped over towards Buttercup hiding his demented expression behind his blank mask. "I'm warning you! Come any closer and I'll cut you!" Buttercup threatened while brandishing her saber. The assailant suddenly warped behind her and slashed with his claws; Buttercup sensing the danger swung around and parried with her saber. The demons power suddenly grew exponentially and pressured Buttercup until her broke her guard and slashed her winter coat tearing through its fabric. "My Jacket!" Buttercup cried as she swung again to keep him at bay.

"Guess I have to cut loose a little bit." Buttercup said as she tossed her tattered jacket to the side and released some of her power. The monster's body pulsated with demonic energy as he warped behind her again ready to strike. Buttercup swiftly ducked out of the way and countered with a slash of her own severing his arm and kicking him in the face simultaneously. "Kyaaaaa!" The creature shrieked as he crashed into the wall. "THE DARKNESS!" He cried as he scrambled out of the dimly-lit hole.

"He really doesn't like the dark huh?" Buttercup noted as she noticed his arm had miraculously returned. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He cried while in the fetal position covering his face. "What is he?" Buttercup questioned while watching this disturbing turn of events. Suddenly the man's voice deepened and turned demonic, his body pulsated with unrest as he started growing in size. Buttercup stunned at his transformation dropped her guard. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Lord HIM- I just want to see my family again!"

The monster turned into a beastly creature; his blank mask had transformed into a Japanese Oni mask; his body was muscular and had the shape of an Ox. He roared in agony as he clumsily rushed his prey. Buttercup dashed out of the way but he swiftly extended his arm out and grabbed hold of her as the razors dug in. Buttercup screamed as she struggled to break free.

"I- I remember you! You're Buttercup!" "Did HIM tell you about me?" Buttercup replied as she broke free with multiple fresh cuts on her body. "I used to be Human- my name was Harold Smith." Buttercup gasped. "Our old neighbor? I thought you moved away years ago?"

"A couple years ago; with all of these financial stresses and factors including prison; my wife couldn't take it anymore, and what's worse my kids didn't respect me either. I thought that being a family of Super Villains would be fun like on TV but it was stressful as hell!" The beast began to cry. "My life was over, everything I ever cared for was gone. Then he appeared, Lord HIM gave me a shoulder to cry on, he saved me when I was ready to end it all! I wanted to be strong, I wanted us to be a family again, so he gave me these super powers. Everything was great! My wife liked the new me, my kids thought I was cool again! I even made a small living off of being a part-time super hero! But the powers he gave me came at a high cost. After about a month of using my super powers- I started to have violent outburst, I would lose control and become this monster destroying everything around me. I awoke one day to find that I had killed my family."

Harold cried uncontrollably as he collapsed on the floor. Buttercup was mortified at his confession. "Please! Kill me!" Buttercup's eyes grew wide with fright. "I don't have anything left! My life has been destroyed thanks to my greed, I killed everyone I ever cared for! Please- Buttercup, Kill me!" He continued as his mask fell off revealing Harold's twisted face. "Buttercup's body shook with fright. "Wha-what should I do? I- I don't want to kill him!"

Harold's body started pulsating with unrest as his demonic energy grew, he screamed in agony as he lost control and savagely attacked Buttercup. "I'm sorry neighbor-" Buttercup shed a tear as she transformed into her Valor form and fired a Black Star in his direction.

To be continued


	9. A Fight to the Death

PPG Bleached: Fade to Black

Chapter IX

A Fight to the Death

 

Blossom stood over Princess's unconscious body; the immaculate emerald that powered her pride filled rampage laid dormant on the floor next to her. "I can't believe that you'd stoop this low Princess." Blossom said as she stomped down on the jewel destroying it and releasing its evil energy. "HIM- I'll make you pay for using everyone like this!" Blossom said as she darted down the battered corridor leaving her opponent defeated and powerless.

Bubbles tinkered with what appeared to be an electromagnetic railgun, she was pushing random buttons trying to figure out a way out of her sealed room. "You'd think with all of these devices Mojo would've left some sort of instruction manual around here." Bubbles said as she accidentally fired a round through the next several dozen walls. "Oh... That'll do it!" She giggled while flying towards Mojo one last time.

His body twitched as his brain case leaked bodily fluids and a single glowing jewel laid in a pool of his brain juice. "I'm Sorry Mojo- I'll come back for you once this is all over." She turned and looked on at the glowing rock. "This Jewel, it feels so evil. I wonder if this is what HIM was using to control Mojo?" Bubbles said as she blasted the crystal with her laser eyes until it turned to dust. She then headed towards the mid-sized hole in the wall; she took a deep breath and smashed through leading into another long corridor. "Hmm?" She paused mid-air. "What was I...?" She shook her head remembering her time critical mission and pressed on.

Buttercup was soaring down the long corridor when she came to a three-way intersection. "Ah- I'll go right!" Buttercup continued down the hall way of her chosen path feeling slightly apprehensive of what else HIM might have done. "Harold- I'm Sorry." She whispered as she stumbled upon a large mystical room. "What the-? How did I end up here?" She questioned as the corridor mysteriously vanished leaving her in a parallel world. The room was lightly moon-lit; with tall trees, bamboo shoots, as well as a mysterious mist hovering over the dew'd grass. "Where am I? I can feel a shallow breeze, and I think I hear a stream nearby."

"Glad to see you made it Buttercup." A mysterious voice said off in the distance. She swiftly grabbed onto her saber and frantically scanned her surroundings. "Where are you? Show yourself!" Buttercup commanded.

"Don't worry, I'm right here- right behind you." The mysterious voice stated. Buttercup quickly turned around and saw a humanoid tanned-skinned samurai wearing an old traditional black and teal colored Kimono with two mid-sized Katanas tucked away in his sash. His piercing eyes were glowing purple; his short spiky black hair was mostly covered by an old bandanna with tribal printing, and marked blatantly on his chest was a mid-sized Number 1.

Buttercup's eyes grew wide with fright. "You're- Number 1?!" Buttercup questioned thinking about her recent battle with Brick who was quoted as being Number 3.

"Yes- I am the leader of HIM"s Numbers, Number 1. As such I am also the strongest of all the Numbers. Yes, even stronger than our Lord HIM." The Samurai stated with a stoic expression.

Buttercup's body trembled with foreboding anxiety. "Why- am I shaking so much? Is it because he's supposedly stronger than Brick? But I'm stronger now- I shouldn't be afraid of him... Even so- I need to finish this quickly, or something bad might happen!" She thought to herself. "Are you scared?" Buttercup grunted in surprise.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave this place alive. For the sake of our Lord HIM and the new future- I will end your pathetic attempt to save the world." The Swordsman swiftly drew one blade and charged passed Buttercup in an instant. She was barely able to counter the attack in time; her saber flung up as her guard was easily broken momentarily. Buttercup quickly turned around and ducked barely missing another swing from the swordsman's blade. She sprang up with her saber and clashed against the swordsman's blade creating sparks on impact; both adversaries stared each other down in a deadlock waiting for each other to make a mistake.

"Why are you helping HIM?! What did he do to you?" Buttercup questioned while her saber trembled with his overwhelming might.

"You don't seem to understand the seriousness of this situation; you see, Lord HIM isn't who you think he is. He's actually the only surviving heir to the Overlords throne; our previous Lord, Overlord Baal was slain- along with his son and other grandson during a raid on the castle by a group that utilized an ancient art known as Demonic Fusion. Your and Brick's powers are the result of Lord HIM experimenting with Demonic fusion as well!"

Buttercup stunned at this news slightly loosened her hold. "I was one of our Lords Elite guardsman and yet, I was defeated and left for dead by those heathens from another world!" The Samurai pressed harder forcing Buttercup back into a dangerous spot. "Thanks to Lord HIM, I was revived and I once again swore my elegance to the Royal Bloodline! We will take back what was rightfully his!"

The swordsman twisted his blade to the right forcing her saber down; he then effortlessly broke through Buttercup's guard slicing her torso straight up. She yelped in pain as he sent her flying with a powerful kick to her fresh wound. She crashed into a dense bamboo thicket as she felt warm blood soaking through her shirt.

"Come on! Fight me at your full strength! It's only honorable if I kill you while you're at your max!" The samurai yelled getting into a perfect stance. Buttercup slowly stood back up, the pain from her fresh wound caused her to flinch in hesitation. "Come on- I can do this!" She felt around her injury, it wasn't too deep but the blood continued to ooze out at an alarming rate. She reached into a small satchel that she had strapped to her leg and pulled out an X-Recovery. "I hope this will continue to heal me throughout this fight, I only have one left after this, so I better not fool around." Buttercup said as she downed the bottle. She then concentrated her energy; her aura radiated as she transformed into her Valor form, her aura then flared violently as her demon's power flourished around herself turning her energy purple and unleashing her full strength.

"My inner self told me before; that our power gets stronger when my life is in danger, and whenever I take massive damage. Well, both factors are in play here so I might be able to do this! I just hope I can stay transformed like this long enough to win though." She said as her power roared with a mighty battle cry breaking the bamboo shoots that surrounded her apart.

The swordsman appeared behind her and swung his sword; Buttercup swiftly turned around and countered with her saber. Dark energy exploded out of both of them as they past each other with sparks flying.

"That's a nice little power you've got there; I've heard so much about it, I'd never expected you to have gained control of your demon so quickly!" The swordsman said as a calm blue aura surrounded his body increasing his strength exponentially. Both rivals swiftly turned to face each other and dashed in a clash of demonic power.

His energy roared as he drew his second sword; he then swiftly swung it horizontally and guarded with the other. Buttercup jumped up to avoid the slash then in mid-air quickly fired a partial Black Star, The Swordsman effortlessly swung his right blade and sliced her slash in half sending the two pieces crashing into the ground behind him.

"I'm really getting tired of seeing that!" Buttercup yelled as she warped below the Samurai with a full powered pre-charged Black Star and fired at point blank range. The Swordsman blocked at the last micro-second but the force of the blast broke his guard sending him crashing into the near-by bamboo thicket.

He instantly jumped back on his feet and charged back towards her; his Kimono was tattered and parts of his body were covered in burns and scratches. "What-? Not even my demon's Full-Powered Black Star was enough to defeat him?" Buttercup said as she parried his attack. He swung both swords in a furious barrage of slashes and strikes; Buttercup frantically tried blocking his attacks but she was clearly losing ground fast. The swordsman slashed upward with both blades breaking Buttercup's guard long enough for him to swing back around and slash her abdomen; she grunted as her adrenaline rush kept her from noticing the pain.

She back flipped away from him and upon landing she warped just to the side of her target with her blade ready to strike; the warrior swung his sword to counter slashing through his opponent's after-image. His eyes grew wide as Buttercup landed a deep slash to his back; he stumbled a bit as Buttercup drove her saber forward, the Samurai smirked as he side-stepped out of the way and slashed down deep into Buttercup's upper back and right leg.

She screamed in agony as she tumbled to the ground reverting back to her normal Valor Form just to see him above her with his blade ready to finish her off. She scurried away in time just as he swung down; Buttercup in desperation poured all her energy into her saber, forming a Black Star and kept it inside to strengthen her attacks. Her breaths were short and rapid; her body felt heavy as blood ran down her right side giving her the chills. Suddenly he appeared above her; his eyes glowed in resonates with his burning aura and his blades cried out hungry for more.

She quickly pointed her saber towards him as he countered and sent her flying with a mighty kick to her face. She soared across and slid on the grassy terrine struggling to regain control; her blood left a trail on the dew'd grass as she dashed back after him. The Swordsman clashed with her sending sparks flying as Buttercup fired off her held Black Star; he let out a might battle cry as he guarded with both blades holding her slash back. Buttercup ceasing the opportunity swiftly dashed behind him dropping her saber in the moment; pointing her palm out, she gathered all the power she could muster up temporarily turning purple again and fired a blast of demonic energy at his backside sandwiching him between her two attacks.

The Samurai's body was enveloped in a huge explosion that rocked the entire castle; Buttercup's body trembled as the darkness left and she returned to her normal non-transformed self. "Did I-win?" She mumbled as she fell to her knees in exhaustion, her body was beaten and her wounds barely started to heal with the lingering effects of her X-Recovery.

Buttercup struggled to get back up on her feet as a blade soared through the aftermath and dug deep into her stomach. She grunted as she saw the hilt of his sword sticking out of her core. The Swordsman appeared through the smoke; his body was covered in severe burns and his bandanna was seared to a crisp exposing his partially chard spiky hair. "You- you've been the most fun I've had since I was defeated last time." He boasted as he walked up to Buttercup who had just fallen to the ground. Blood oozed out of her wounds as he forcefully dug his blade out of her. Buttercup screamed in agony as he picked her up by the shirt. "Get on your feet! Let's end this with one last attack!" He declared tossing her to the ground.

She stood back up, dizzy from blood loss she put steady pressure on her gut trying to stop the bleeding. "Where's my other X-Recovery?" She said frantically looking for her satchel which was lost in the fog of war.

"Well? Are you going to pick up your sword and duel or should I just kill you now?" The Samurai threatened while putting one sword away and getting into his final stance.

Buttercup turned her head and saw her saber sticking out of the ground; she limped over and unsheathed it from its resting place. She concentrated what little strength she had left and forcefully transformed into her Valor Form; ignoring the strain her body is enduring due to her transformation she pushed harder and unleashed her demons lingering will damaging her physical self in the process. Buttercup grunted in excruciating pain. "Here I come!" She screamed as both her and the swordsman charged after each other one last time. She poured all her strength into a Black Star and held it in her saber again to double her strike power.

"This is it-! I have to win!" Buttercup cried as both warriors slashed passed each other in a cataclysmic clash of power. Buttercup stood passed the swordsman in her normal Valor Form wearing a stoic expression on her face. The swordsman had a bloody gash on his side and severe burns on his chest with his kimono all torn and tattered; he slowly put his sword back in its sheath and exhaled a deep sigh. Buttercup's body trembled as blood shot out from her chest, sides, and shoulders. She stumbled down a bit and slammed her saber into the ground to hold herself up.

"NO! I won't fall-!" She cried when she suddenly felt all her strength leave her body reverting her back to her normal self. She fell to her knees in defeat. "Dammit, my body feels so heavy, and my vision is so blurry- I can't believe I lost!" She cried out as her legs gave way and she fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood leaving her saber protruding near her tortured body.

"It's all over- you've done very well getting this far; you and your sisters even defeated high level monsters and Numbers, but you can feel it right? Your body is at its limit and you're dying- their's nothing more you can do. I don't think I ever gave you my name; my name is Ryuuji. It was a pleasure fighting with you." The swordsman said while Buttercup's body rested on the ground covered in blood adjacent to him.

"I'm sorry everyone- I failed you..." She whispered as she passed out with tears in her eyes.

…

Bubbles was flying down her corridor when she felt something strange deep in her heart. "Somethings wrong- I hope my sisters are OK." She said continuing down the hall looking every so vigilantly for something...

To be Continued...


	10. The Encounter

PPG Bleached: Fade to Black  
Chapter X  
The Encounter  
________________________________________  
"What do you want?" Blossom questioned looking over at a hooded figure hiding in the background dressed in black and purple. "Well? Are you going to answer me or not?" Blossom continued while getting into a defensive stance. The stoic figure swayed side to side in a sort of rhythmic dance. "What is he?" Blossom questioned further while studying this unusual creature. "Stay out of my way if you don't want to get hurt!" She threatened as she cautiously flew past the dancing figure.

"What was that just now? Whatever it was, it better not come- back?" Blossom saw the same figure dancing further down the hallway urging her to turn right. She quickly stopped mid-air. "Who are you?" She asked in a slightly nervous tone but the figure continued to dance in a trance like state. "You want me to go right?" She continued as the figure urged her to go down the right hallway. "What are you after? Are you working for HIM?" The Purple stranger suddenly froze and slowly returned to a neutral state; Blossom confused at who this mystery person was landed adjacent to them. The dancer then tilted its head just before vanishing in a vail of black mist. Suddenly Blossom was face down on the ground; the hooded figure had materialized and swiftly forced Blossom's face to the white marble floor.

Blossom sprang back up in a fit of rage. "Who the heck-?" She quickly scanned the hallway looking for her target who had mysteriously vanished again. "Where did he-?! Blossom was suddenly struck by a powerful thunder bolt that seemed to have fallen from nowhere. She was then quickly grabbed and tossed at breakneck speeds down the right hallway just to get kicked in the face and smashed into the wall by the vanishing trickster.

Blossom stumbled as she regained her balance just to see the hooded figure dancing further down the hallway again. "Alright you-! I'm going make sure you pay for that!" Blossom yelled as she rushed down the corridor chasing her phantom friend.

...

Bubbles found another room at the end of the long hall way. She walked inside and felt a disturbing presence staring back at her. The dark room then warped sealing the door and the lone flicker of light inside. The distortion created a large bloody dungeon filled with numerous rotting corpses and dozens of torture devices scattered among the dead. Bubbles gasped, the stench of all of the bodies nearly made her barf. "What is this? Where am I?! I-I don't like this!" Bubbles cried while covering face.

"Where indeed-" A sinister voice proclaimed. Bubbles turned towards the voice barely making anything out in the dimly lit room. "Who are you?" She hesitated to say in overwhelming fright. "You don't have to worry my sweet child- you have nothing to fear. I'm right here." Another voice whispered in the shadows. Bubbles heard a dragging sound near-by that was accompanied by a slight hissing sound. "We just want to play." Another voice said followed by another hissing sound. "Lord HIM gave us a present!" A joyful voice exclaimed deep in the shadows. "What are you?" Bubbles cried in a panic.

Suddenly a large fire set all of the mangled bodies ablaze, the cries of the damned haunted Bubbles's Psyche. "These voices! Were these people from- Townsville?!" She questioned with fear driven eyes. "These are the people that you and your sisters killed while trying to 'Save the Day'; you three truly are the biggest hypocrites!" Bubbles looked on in horror at the smoldering bodies, the smell of burning flesh caused her to violently throw up. "Don't worry little girl, it'll be all over soon!" A voice said while dragging its body across the bloody floor.

Bubbles broke down and cried. "No way- that can't be true!" "Come with us child! We will make it all better." Bubbles looked up in complete horror; five large snake-like creatures slowly slid their massive bodies closer and closer to the lone Powerpuff.

"This can't be real! I was in a different room before- right? Wait- where was I?" Bubbles in desperation transformed into her Star Form. "What am I missing? Who are these people? Ah- I need to save my sisters!" She cried out trying to shake her overwhelming sense of confusion.

…

Blossom was in hot pursuit of her target when the hooded figure suddenly warped in front of her delivering a swift kick to her face again. "Hold still will ya?" Blossom yelled trying to grab hold of the purple phantom. The hooded figure again warped further down the corridor as Blossom gave chase. The Phantom then led Blossom to a large opening with lots of debris from a previous explosion; the figure suddenly stopped at the mouth of the hole. "Finished running?" Blossom said while rubbing her cheek. The hooded figure then materialized a mid-sized purple and gold Katana and brandished its blade towards its pursuer. "So, it's a fight you want huh? Fine then- I'm tired of these cat and mouse games." Blossom said while getting into an attack position.

The figure stood perfectly still with its blade at the ready; Blossom stood steadfast, ready to counter anything that the phantom might do. The purple figure then quickly turned around and sprinted into the large opening leaving her pursuer dumbfounded. "Wha-? Get back here!" Blossom yelled getting even more annoyed at this purple trickster.

"Where is he leading me to? I can't afford to get stuck in some sort of trap." Blossom mumbled. She soon found herself running through what appeared to be a thick bamboo thicket. "Where am I?" She said noticing that the purple trickster had mysteriously vanished again. Blossom cautiously walked through the forest when she felt the icy sting of someone watching her. At the ready she carefully watched her surroundings, listening for the slightest irregularity. Suddenly the phantom appeared ready to pounce her prey again, Blossom swiftly sidestepped and super punched the trickster in the face knocking its hood off temporarily. A long brown ponytail flew out as the phantom quickly covered its face and took off running deeper into the forest. "Huh? Why did that look so familiar?" Blossom questioned as she gave chase once more.

...

Bubbles in her Star form was desperately trying to escape the confides of her prison quickly burning though her energy reserves. "Every time I land a hit on these snakes they quickly turn into shadows and rematerialize somewhere else! If I don't do something soon, I might not make it out of here!" Bubbles thought while trying to drown out the screams of the burning bodies that surrounded her. "Give up child, you can't win against us!" "Yeah, we'll just keep resurrecting until you run out of energy." "Then We'll bring you to Lord HIM, and turn you into one of us!" The Shadows proclaimed.

"That's not going to happen!" Bubbles yelled while trying to break through a wall. "It's useless, this room has a special barrier that negates your attacks. You can't escape!" Bubbles continued to punch the wall feeling increasingly weaker after every punch until she reverted back to her normal self, falling to the bloody floor below. "Out of energy? Perfect!" The Snakes slithered their way to the exhausted Powerpuff girl. Bubbles struggled to get back on her feet. "What's wrong? I feel like I've used up all of my energy much faster than usual. I can't be this tired yet!" She thought while trying to hold herself up on the wall behind her.

Suddenly a giant crack appeared across the entire dungeon shattering everything like glass. "What the-?!" Bubbles said as a lone figure crashed through the ceiling. "Looks like I made it just in time!" The figure said while brandishing a dark green saber at the snakes. "Buttercup!" Bubbles cried in relief. "Hurry let's get out of here!" Buttercup yelled as they both flew out of the hole in the ceiling.  
"That was a close one! If you hadn't shown up when you did I might have been toast!" Bubbles said ecstatically. "Don't worry Bubbles, as long as I'm here you don't have to worry about a thing!" Buttercup said with a curious smile.

...

"Huh-?" Blossoms body trembled with overwhelming fear and hatred, her vision was fading in and out as she struggled to make sense of what she just witnessed. "You- how-?!" Blossom's energy skyrocketed and her usual calm aura was radiating violently around her forcing the bamboo shoots to snap and fly in every direction. "How dare you hurt Buttercup like that!" Blossom screamed as she forcefully transformed into her Black Rose form.  
"How lucky, looks like lord HIM has blessed me with the opportunity to kill both of you!" The lone Samurai proclaimed while drawing his blade once more. Blossom enraged continued to push her form releasing more and more energy rocking the castle and forming small ice crystals on the ground around her. Her eyes glowed an icy blue as the temperature dropped and fresh snow built up on the battleground.

Ryuuji giggled. "Fascinating, you girls truly are gifted. However, you're making the same mistake as Buttercup." "What are you talking about!" Blossom screamed. "Don't think you can beat me by just powering up and forcing your will on me. She did that and now look and her; her own inexperience was her downfall!" Ryuuji stated as a calm blue aura surrounded him increasing his strength exponentially almost matching Blossom's in ferocity.

Blossom grunted in anger. "Buttercup- I'll save you! Just hang tight for a second. This guy- he's not bluffing. I can tell this is only a fraction of what he's capable of, I need to give it all I've got or neither of us are going to make it!" Blossom calmed her aura slightly; her energy flourished around her as she concentrated on her physical abilities. "I never really got to test this, so I hope my body can handle it." Blossom thought as her aura dissipated and she reverted back to normal with a high amount of energy built up. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Alight here I come!" She screamed as she instantly transformed with a violent scarlet red aura and dashed at super-sonic speed after her target landing a powerful kick to his face.

She reverted back and swiftly grabbed Buttercup, but as she tried to escape Ryuuji grabbed her long hair and tossed her back while simultaneously kicking Buttercup away from the battleground. "You're not getting away that easily!" Ryuuji yelled while brandishing his blade towards Blossom once again.

Blossom grunted in frustration just before transforming and dashing behind him. Ryuuji swiftly swung his blade around just barely missing his mark as Blossom ducked and hastily head butted him in the gut as hard as she could while simultaneously reverting back. The Swordsman gagged in pain while rocketing to the sky above; Blossom transformed again and rushed past him almost in an instant. Ryuuji spun around and fired a slash of energy similar to Buttercup's Black Star at the speeding Powerpuff, but Blossom continued forcing her energy into her speed avoiding his attack while swiftly super punching him back to the ground below. She quickly reverted back as the massive concentration of energy expenditure was taking a toll on her.

Her body trembled in severe agony; the temporary sudden burst of energy that she endured far surpassed both of her sister's strength and speed however, it came at a great cost of energy loss, nausea, and muscle spasms.

"Come on body- don't burn out just yet!" Blossom mumbled as her core started to cramp. Ryuuji climbed out of the large crater, his head and prior wounds were oozing out warm blood. "Damnit- you hit pretty hard don't cha?" Blossom grunted out of spite. "How great it must be to be able to fly" Ryuuji said with a sly grin. "What are you-" Blossom flinched as his second blade soared at lightning speed slicing her right cheek in the process. Her eyes trembled at the sudden realization that she was almost killed just now. "Duck!" The Swordsman playfully yelled. Blossom quickly flew away as his blade sliced its way past her like a boomerang.

"Come on! Buttercup's waiting for you- Blossom!" Ryuuji taunted as he captured and sheathed his second blade. Blossom in a fit of rage pushed past the pain and transformed slightly stronger than before. "You'll pay for that!" She cried while vanishing in an instant.  
The Swordsman on guard sidestepped and sliced his blade through Blossom's after image, he again spun around to attack only to miss by a fraction of a second. Blossom zipped around him landing a series of punches and kicks just before vanishing and smashing him to the ground creating a large crater with jagged ice crystals shooting every which way.

Blossom reverted back and jumped out of the ice filled crater. Her body was tense, everything hurt and she felt extremely exhausted. Ryuuji gagged in agony as Blossom's super powered punches left a painful mark on his beaten body. She quickly turned to locate her sister when she felt an incredible shock throughout her tortured body. She screamed as all of her muscles cramped at the same time immobilizing her temporarily and causing her to fall over. Ryuuji slowly climbed out with absolute hatred. "That's enough- I'm done playing with you! It's time I finished you off!" The Samurai threatened while drawing his second blade and releasing his energy.

Blossom struggled to reach into her satchel and pulled out her X-Recovery, she forced her body up and drank half of the vail. "I Should've known it wouldn't work, this form waste way too much energy to fully utilize properly. Even using my normal Black Rose form burns through energy too fast. I need to figure out how to use the power up without wasting energy like how the RRB and this Swordsman seem to be able to do. I guess he was right though- I can't beat him by just powering up like that." Blossom took a deep breath as her muscles started to relax.

"Die- Powerpuff Girl!" Ryuuji stabbed both blades into the ground as his body pulsated with his overwhelming power. "Guardián del Rey! (Guardian of the King) Just before he could fully release his power a familiar purple phantom materialized behind him and placed a mysterious incantation on his back. He screamed in all out agony as his energy was drained and his potential sealed away. "What have you-? What have you done girl!" The Samurai screamed as the mysterious trickster vanished into thin air again leaving only a haunting laugh.

"This is my chance!" Blossom thought as she scurried off to find her sister only to get sliced in the arm by his flying blade. "Damnit- I missed!" The beaten Samurai cried while he struggled to get back up. Blossom turned to face him, her eyes trembled at his unwavering tenacity. "This guy is incredible. Even after fighting Buttercup and withstanding my Super Form, he continues to fight- just what kind of monster did you recruit HIM?" Blossom thought as her muscles started to tighten up again.

"I'm going to make sure you stay down this time!" Blossom yelled while avoiding his blades roundabout return. She clenched her fist and concentrated her strength into certain spots on her body; a swirling vortex of ice crystals formed around her as she kept her aura calm and under control. "I need the massive power boost of the super form, but the endurance of my superficial release. I need to master my control." Blossom thought as her X-Recovery slowly recovered some lost energy.

"You're something else huh? Those burst of energy you used earlier were definitely on the level of an Ascended Release, however it seems you still can't maintain that level of control yet." Blossom grunted in surprise. "What are you talking about?" "Don't worry about it, it's not like you'll ever reach it. I'm just saying that power you used was on par with my Resurrection form if not just a bit weaker." Ryuuji said while getting into a high stance. "Once I finish you, I'll begin my hunt for that traitor! She'll pay for that-"

"For the glory of the Netherworld! For Lord HIM!" Ryuuji cried as he charged driven only by sheer will power alone. Blossom focused her remaining energy into her legs while simultaneously rocketing towards the wounded Samurai. She soared around avoiding swing after swing and landing numerous kicks as she zipped around surrounded by a slightly more controlled scarlet colored aura.  
Blossom reverted back only to get kicked in the face by the rage building Samurai. Her body tensed up as she flipped around trying to regain control when Ryuuji appeared in front of her with his blade ready to strike. She swiftly knocked his arm to the side and transformed while simultaneously headbutting him in the face. The Swordsman flinched as Blossom quickly grabbed his leg and tossed him at breakneck speed towards the surrounding forest just to get sliced by his blade in the process. Blossom cried in pain as she reverted and the Samurai crashed into the ground away from her. He then quickly rushed in behind his advisory whom was struggling to regain her composure and caught her off guard.

"Die!" He screamed, but before he could deal the finishing blow he was tackled to the ground by an unknown assailant. "Y-You're still alive?!" Ryuuji screamed while struggling to push them off. "B-Buttercup!" Blossom overcome with joy cried out. "Blossom quick, get my Saber!" She cried out while struggling to hold him down.

"R-right!" She replied while transforming and rocketing towards the Saber still protruding from the ground near a semi dry puddle of blood. She swiftly grabbed it and using her momentum propelled herself at breakneck speed back into the action. "Buttercup!" Blossom cried as she slashed past both of them barely missing her sister who had moved at the last second. The Samurai fell to his knees in defeat, his wound froze over as jagged blood-filled ice crystals formed in his fresh cuts. "Who would've thought- that it would end this way? Heh, Lord Baal, please- forgive me!" Ryuuji pleaded as Blossom froze his body with her ice breath incasing him in her icy prison.

"Whoa, how did you-?" Buttercup was quickly tackled by her overjoyed sister who was crying out on top of her. "Buttercup! Are you O.K.? I was so worried about you!" Buttercup smiled as she held onto her exhausted sister. "I'm fine, really! I don't remember much after I blacked out, but while you were giving it your all against that Samurai- someone healed me." "Who was it?" "I'm not sure, they wore a dark colored hood over their face so I couldn't exactly see who it was. But I'm thankful nonetheless. I'm still pretty sore though." Buttercup said with a worn-out smile. "I wonder if it's the same person who led me here?" Blossom stated while getting back on her wobbly feet. "Someone led you here?" Buttercup replied while getting helped up by her sister. "I'm not sure, they seemed kind of familiar though. Almost like a troublesome ghost." "Well Whoever they were, I guess we owe them one." "Yeah- especially against that Samurai." Blossom said as she handed Buttercup the other half of her X-Recovery.

To Be Continued


End file.
